# flip

> English word · Noun · IPA /flɪp/ · frequency rank #5,129

## Definitions
1. A maneuver which rotates an object end over end.
2. A complete change of direction, decision, movement etc.
3. A fillip or light blow.
4. A whit or jot; the tiniest amount.
5. A short flight.
6. A slingshot.
7. A hairstyle popular among boys in the 1960s–70s and 2000s–10s, in which the hair goes halfway down the ears, at which point it sticks out
8. The purchase of an asset (usually a house) which is then improved and sold quickly for profit.
9. The tendency of a gun's barrel to jerk about at the moment of firing.

## Etymology
Alteration of earlier fillip, from Middle English filippen (“to make a signal or sound with thumb and right forefinger, snap the fingers”), an attenuated variation of flappen (“to flap, clap, slap, strike”). Cognate with Dutch flappen (“to flap”), German flappen (“to flap”).

## Easily confused with
- **FP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-fp)
- **fly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-fly)
- **flu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flu)
- **FYI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-fyi)
- **Flo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flo)
- **FTP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-ftp)
- **foi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-foi)
- **flow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flow)
- **FOIL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-foil)
- **flux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flux)
- **flop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flop)
- **FOIA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-foia)
- **flue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flue)
- **flor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flor)
- **flog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flog)
- **foie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-foie)
- **fluid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-fluid)
- **flirt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flirt)
- **FLOPS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flops)
- **flips** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flip-vs-flips)

## Common misspellings (6)
`fflip`, `filp`, `flipp`, `fllip`, `flpi`, `lfip`

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