lip
/lɪp/noun, verb
lip is spelled L-I-P: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lip means “Either of the two fleshy protrusions around the opening of the mouth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lip is lips.
How many letters and syllables are in lip?
| Letters | 3: L-I-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,778th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lip?
Lip appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lip?
- US /lɪp/
Lip has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lip.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lip
Also written: lippy.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with lip?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lip from its last stressed vowel (/ɪp/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lip
- lips plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lipping participle, present
- lipped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lip mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Either of the two fleshy protrusions around the opening of the mouth.
- 2
A part of the body that resembles a lip, such as the edge of a wound or the labia.
- 3
The projecting rim of an open container or a bell, etc.; a short open spout.
- 4
slangBacktalk; verbal impertinence.
Don’t give me any lip!
- 5
The edge of a high spot of land.
- 6
The sharp cutting edge on the end of an auger.
- 7
One of the two opposite divisions of a labiate corolla.
- 8
A distinctive lower-appearing of the three true petals of an orchid.
verb
- 1
To touch or grasp with the lips; to kiss; to lap the lips against (something).
- 2
To touch lightly.
- 3
To wash against a surface, lap.
- 4
To rise or flow up to or over the edge of something.
- 5
To form the rim, edge or margin of something.
- 6
To utter verbally.
- 7
To simulate speech by moving the lips without making any sound; to mouth.
- 8
To make a golf ball hit the lip of the cup, without dropping in.
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of large igneous province.
- 2
Abbreviation of litigant in person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lip in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lèvre |
| German | Lippe, Lefze, Schnauze , Auslauf, Überlauf, Schnaupe |
| Portuguese | lábio, beiço |
| Spanish | labio, labro, bezo, bembo, bembe, buz |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lip come from?
From Middle English lippe, from Old English lippa, lippe (“lip”), from Proto-West Germanic *lippjō (“lip”), from Proto-Germanic *lepô, from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang loosely, droop, sag”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).