# chip

> English word · Noun · IPA /t͡ʃʰɪp/ · frequency rank #4,219

## Definitions
1. A small piece broken from a larger piece of solid material.
2. A damaged area of a surface where a small piece has been broken off.
3. A token used in place of cash.
4. A medallion.
5. A sovereign (the coin).
6. A circuit fabricated in one piece on a small, thin substrate; a microchip.
7. A hybrid device mounted in a substrate, containing electronic circuitry and miniaturised mechanical, chemical or biochemical devices.
8. A deep-fried strip of potato; see also usage note at french fries.
9. A thin, crisp, fried slice of potato, a crisp; occasionally a similar fried slice of another vegetable or dried fruit.
10. A type of shot in various sports.
11. A type of shot in various sports.
12. A type of shot in various sports.
13. A type of shot in various sports.
14. A type of shot in various sports.
15. A dried piece of dung, often used as fuel.
16. A receptacle, usually for strawberries or other fruit.
17. A small, near-conical piece of food added in baking.
18. A small rectangle of colour printed on coated paper for colour selection and matching. A virtual equivalent in software applications.
19. The triangular piece of wood attached to the log line.
20. Wood or Cuban palm leaf split into slips, or straw plaited in a special manner, for making hats or bonnets.
21. Anything dried up, withered, or without flavour.
22. The smallest amount; a whit or jot.

## Etymology
Noun from Middle English chip, chippe, from Old English ċipp (“chip; small piece of wood, shaving”), from Old English *ċippian (“to cut; hew”) – attested in Old English forċippian (“to cut off”) –, from Proto-West Germanic *kippōn (“to cut; carve; hack; chop”), from Proto-Germanic *kippōną (“to chip, chop”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeyb- (“to split; divide; germinate; sprout”). Related to Dutch kip, keep (“notch; nick; score”), Dutch kippen (“to hatch”), German Low German kippen (“to cut; clip; trim; shorten”), German kipfen (“to chop off the tip; snip”), Old Swedish kippa (“to chop”). Compare also chop.
The formally similar Old English ċipp, ċypp, ċyp (“a beam; log; stock; post”), from Proto-Germanic *kippaz (“log; beam”) (whence Old Saxon kip (“post”), Old High German kipfa, chipfa (“axle, stave”), Old Norse keppr (“cudgel, club”)) is a different, unrelated word either borrowed from Latin cippus (“stake; pale; post”) or borrowed from the same source language as the Latin.
Verb from Middle English chippen, from Old English *ċippian (“to cut; hew”) – attested in Old English forċippian (“to cut off”) – see above.

## Easily confused with
- **cp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cp)
- **ci** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-ci)
- **cup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cup)
- **cop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cop)
- **CIA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cia)
- **cis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cis)
- **chu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-chu)
- **cho** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cho)
- **CPI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cpi)
- **Civ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-civ)
- **CSI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-csi)
- **CID** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cid)
- **CHP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-chp)
- **cit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cit)
- **CHR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-chr)
- **cig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cig)
- **CRI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cri)
- **CSP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-csp)
- **Cui** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cui)
- **CIF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-cif)

## Common misspellings (6)
`cchip`, `chhip`, `chipp`, `chpi`, `cihp`, `hcip`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/chip