1. A small fragment of something broken off from the whole
   "a chip of rock caught him in the eye";
   - bit, flake, fleck, scrap
    
2. A mark left after a small piece has been chopped or broken off of something
   "There was a small chip on the edge of the plate";
   - check
    
3. Electronic equipment consisting of a small crystal of a silicon semiconductor fabricated to carry out a number of electronic functions in an integrated circuit
   "The latest smartphone boasted a powerful chip that improved its processing speed";
   - microchip, silicon chip, microprocessor chip
    
4. [Brit] A strip of deep-fried potato
   "He dipped a chip in ketchup";
   - French fry [N. Amer], french fry [N. Amer]
    
5. [N. Amer] A thin crisp slice of potato fried in deep fat
   "She packed potato chips in the children's lunch boxes";
   - crisp [Brit], potato chip [N. Amer], Saratoga chip, potato crisp [Brit]
    
6. A small disk-shaped counter used to represent money when gambling
   "He nervously shuffled his poker chips as he considered his next bet";
   - poker chip
    
7. A piece of dried bovine dung
   "Pioneers on the plains sometimes used buffalo chips as fuel";
   - cow chip, cow dung, buffalo chip
    
8. (seafaring) a triangular wooden float attached to the end of a log line
   "The sailor used the chip to measure the ship's speed"
    
9. (golf) a short approach shot where the ball travels more in the air than on the ground
   "His chip shot from just off the green rolled close to the hole";
   - chip shot

1. Detach or become detached or separated from a larger piece
   "Her tooth chipped";
   - chip off, come off, break away, break off, break, snap off
    
2. Break a small piece off from
   "chip the glass"; "chip a tooth";
   - knap, cut off, break off
    
3. Cut a nick into
   "She chipped the edge of the plate";
   - nick
    
4. (golf) play a chip shot
   "She chipped the ball onto the green from just off the fringe"
    
5. Form by chipping
   "They chipped their names in the stone"

Derived forms: chipping, chips, chipped

See also: break

Type of: approach, approach shot, blemish, counter, cut, defect, detach, divide, droppings, dung, float, forge, form, fragment, mar, mold [N. Amer], mould [Brit, Cdn], muck, part, scat, semiconductor, semiconductor device, semiconductor unit, separate, shape, shoot, snack food, work

Part of: computer, computing device, computing machine, data processor, electronic computer, information processing system

Encyclopedia: Chip, George