Meaning & use
chip
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A small, flat piece that has broken or been cut off from something larger, such as wood, stone, or paint.
Grammar: Countable; can be used with 'a' or in the plural. Often followed by 'of': a chip of wood.
Patterns
- a chip of something
- chips of paint
There was a chip in the edge of the glass.
She swept up the chips of wood from the floor.
The old paint was peeling off in chips.
nouncountablecomputing
A tiny electronic circuit that processes or stores information inside a computer or device.
Grammar: Countable; common in technology contexts. Often used in compounds like 'computer chip' or 'memory chip'.
Patterns
- a computer chip
- a chip inside something
The new phone has a faster chip.
They implanted a small chip in the device to track its location.
The company makes chips for laptops and tablets.
nouncountableAmerican
A thin, crisp slice of fried or baked potato eaten as a snack.
Grammar: Countable; in American English usually 'chip' or 'potato chip'; in British English 'crisp'. In British English 'chips' are thick fried potato sticks (American 'fries').
Patterns
- a bag of chips
- potato chips
He opened a bag of chips to share.
She dipped a chip in salsa.
Would you like some chips with your sandwich?
verbtransitive or intransitive
To break or knock a small piece off the edge or surface of something.
Grammar: Can be used with an object (chip a cup) or without (the cup chipped). Often used in the passive: the plate got chipped.
Patterns
- chip something
- chip at something
- get chipped
Be careful not to chip the paint.
The vase chipped when it fell.
He chipped a tooth on a piece of ice.
Word forms
| plural | chips |
|---|---|
| third person singular | chips |
| past tense | chipped |
| past participle | chipped |
| present participle | chipping |
Common combinations
- chip in
- We all chipped in to buy her a gift.
- a chip on your shoulder
- He has a chip on his shoulder about his background.
- chip away at
- She kept chipping away at the problem until it was solved.
- chocolate chip
- These cookies are full of chocolate chips.
- chip shop
- Let's get fish and chips from the chip shop.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fragment
- Fragment is more formal and often suggests a larger broken piece; chip is smaller and often from an edge.
- sliver
- Sliver suggests a long, thin piece; chip is usually flatter and irregular.
- crisp
- Crisp is the British word for a thin fried potato snack; chip is the American word (and in British English 'chips' are fries).
Word family
Commonly confused: chip or chop? chip or dip?
chip vs chop
Chop means to cut with a heavy blow, often into pieces; chip means to break off a small piece from an edge.
chip vs dip
Dip is a sauce you put chips into; chip is the food itself.
Practice
I dropped my phone and now there's a ___ in the screen.
Choose one answer.
'Chip' is the noun for a small broken piece or damaged spot. 'Chop' is a cut of meat or a cutting action; 'chip's' is possessive; 'chipping' is a verb form and doesn't fit after 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chip”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.