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blip

 - 3 dictionary results

blip

[blip] noun, verb, blipped, blip⋅ping.
–noun
1. Also called pip. Electronics.
a. a spot of light on a radar screen indicating the position of a plane, submarine, or other object.
b. (loosely) any small spot of light on a display screen.
2. a brief upturn, as in revenue or income: The midwinter blip was no cause for optimism among store owners.
3. anything small, as in amount or number: a blip of light; Those opposed were merely a blip in the opinion polls.
4. bleep (def. 3).
5. Slang. a nickel; five cents.
6. Movies. a mark of synchronization on a sound track.
7. 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.
–verb (used without object)
8. Informal. to move or proceed in short, irregular, jerking movements: The stock market has blipped one point higher this week.
–verb (used with object)
9. bleep (def. 5).

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

bleep

[bleep]
–noun
1. a brief, constant beeping sound, usually of a high pitch and generated by an electronic device.
2. such an electronic sound used to replace a censored word or phrase, as on a television broadcast.
3. Also, blip. (used as a euphemism to indicate the omission or deletion of an obscenity or other objectionable word).
–verb (used without object)
4. (of an electronic device) to emit a series of bleeps as an audible signal, summons, or warning.
–verb (used with object)
5. Also, blip. to censor (an obscene, vulgar, or other objectionable word or phrase) from a radio or television broadcast by deleting from the audio signal, leaving a gap or an electronic tone: The word was bleeped out of the comedian's routine.

Origin:
1950–55; perh. imit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To blip
blip   (blĭp)   
n.  
  1. A spot of light on a radar or sonar screen indicating the position of a detected object, such as an aircraft or a submarine. Also called pip3.

  2. A high-pitched electronic sound; a bleep.

  3. A transient sharp upward or downward movement, as on a graph.

  4. A temporary or insignificant phenomenon, especially a brief departure from the normal: "The decline in the share of GNP going to health . . . appears to be a one-time blip in the historic trend rather than the start of a new trend" (Atlantic).

tr.v.   blipped, blip·ping, blips
To bleep.

[Imitative.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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