Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

blip

[blip]

Origin

noun

Also called pip. Electronics.

a spot of light on a radar screen indicating the position of a plane, submarine, or other object.

(loosely) any small spot of light on a display screen.

a brief upturn, as in revenue or income: The midwinter blip was no cause for optimism among store owners.

anything small, as in amount or number: a blip of light; Those opposed were merely a blip in the opinion polls.

bleep (def. 3).

Slang. a nickel; five cents.

EXPAND

Movies. a mark of synchronization on a sound track.

a small or brief interruption, as in the continuity of a motion-picture film or the supply of light or electricity: There were blips in the TV film where the commercials had been edited out.

COLLAPSE

verb (used without object)

Informal. to move or proceed in short, irregular, jerking movements: The stock market has blipped one point higher this week.

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Blip is always a great word to know.

So is impedance. Does it mean:

time taken for charge to decay to 1 over the natural logarithm of its initial value

total opposition to alternating current by an electric circuit

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

verb (used with object)

bleep (def. 5).

Origin:
1890–95, for an earlier sense; sound symbolism, with p for brevity and abrupt end of the impulse; bl- perhaps from blink

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To blip

Collins

World English Dictionary

blip (blɪp)

—n
1.	a repetitive sound, such as that produced by an electronic device, by dripping water, etc
2.	Also called: pip the spot of light or a sharply peaked pulse on a radar screen indicating the position of an object
3.	a temporary irregularity recorded in performance of something

—vb , blips, blipping, blipped
4.	(intr) to produce such a noise

[C20: of imitative origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

blip

1894, of echoic origin. Radar screen sense is from 1945.

Slang Dictionary

blip definition

[blɪp]

n.
an intermittently appearing light on a radar screen. : A blip caught the controller's eye for an instant.
n.
anything quick and insignificant; a onetime thing of little importance. : It was nothing, just a blip. The press blew it out of proportion.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Word Dynamo Rating For Blip

People who can define Blip may know 8,054 words.

How many words do you know?

Want blip ad-free? Click here!

Related Words

bleep blipping

blipping

Quote Of The Day

"Good writing is always a breaking of the soil, clearing away prejudices, pulling up of sour weeds of crooked thinking, stripping the turf so as to get at what is fertile beneath. It would be amusing to carry the simile further. Those bulbs that flower in the sand and wither! The gay fiction annual that has to be planted again every year! Those experimental plants from Russia, France, and Greenwich Village that are always getting winter killed—confound 'em!—is it worth while planting them again? The stocky perennial that keeps coming up and coming up—so easy to grow and so ugly. Scarlet sage that gives a touch of fiery sin to the edge of the suburbanite's concrete walk! And then the good flowers—as honest as they are beautiful! The well-ordered gar den! The climbing rose that escapes and is the most beautiful of all!"

-Henry Seidel Canby

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help