What does "hip" mean?
The outward-projecting parts of the pelvis and top of the femur and the overlying tissue.
Hip
/hɪp/ adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The outward-projecting parts of the pelvis and top of the femur and the overlying tissue.
- Grammar: hip is listed as adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: hip joint, acquaint, advise, all the rage.
- Useful contrasts: boo, conceal, fashion laggard.
- Usage evidence: Like it or not, we're in this together. All we can do is work as closely as if we were joined at the hip.
How to use "hip"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hip" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hip" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hip" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hip" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hip" is acting as adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "hip joint" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hip", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The outward-projecting parts of the pelvis and top of the femur and the overlying tissue.
- 2 The fruit of a rose.
"1. BROTHER. […] What doo you gather there? OLD MAN. Hips and Hawes, and stickes and strawes, and thinges that I gather on the ground my sonne."
- 3 Acronym of Home Information Pack. British, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 4 either side of the body below the waist and above the thigh wordnet
- 5 The inclined external angle formed by the intersection of two sloping roof planes.
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 Acronym of Higher Intermediate Point. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 7 the ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the acetabulum wordnet
- 8 In a bridge truss, the place where an inclined end post meets the top chord.
"in all bridges preference will be given to designs having struts for hip verticals"
- 9 Acronym of historically informed performance. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 10 the structure of the vertebrate skeleton supporting the lower limbs in humans and the hind limbs or corresponding parts in other vertebrates wordnet
- 11 A drug addict, especially someone addicted to a narcotic like heroin. dated, possibly, slang
"Ike explained to me that the Mexican government issued permits to hips allowing them a definite quantity of morphine per month at wholesale prices."
- 12 Initialism of hot isostatic pressing abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 13 the fruit of a rose plant wordnet
- 14 (architecture) the exterior angle formed by the junction of a sloping side and a sloping end of a roof wordnet
Verb
- 1 To use one's hips to bump into someone.
- 2 To inform, to make knowledgeable. slang, transitive
"No doubt, too, Sand must have hipped him quietly in a whisper somewhere what was happening with the lover"
- 3 To throw (one's adversary) over one's hip ("cross-buttock").
- 4 To dislocate or sprain the hip of, to fracture or injure the hip bone of (a quadruped) in such a manner as to produce a permanent depression of that side.
- 5 To make with a hip or hips, as a roof.
Adjective
- 1 Aware, informed, up-to-date, trendy. dated, slang
"I am also starting a folk-entourage school where you can go into gladitorial training to hang out in hip crowds with budding young folk stars."
Adjective
- 1 informed about the latest trends wordnet
Intj
- 1 An exclamation to invoke a united cheer: hip hip hooray.
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive of the female given name Hippolyta.
- 2 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Like it or not, we're in this together. All we can do is work as closely as if we were joined at the hip."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hip"?
Common synonyms include: hip joint, acquaint, advise, all the rage, all the thing, ankle.
How do you use "hip" in a sentence?
Like it or not, we're in this together. All we can do is work as closely as if we were joined at the hip.
How do you pronounce "hip"?
Pronounced /hɪp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English hipe, hupe, from Old English hype, from Proto-Germanic *hupiz (compare Dutch heup, Low German Huop, German Hüfte), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- (compare Welsh cysgu (“to sleep”), Latin cubāre (“to lie”), Ancient Greek κύβος (kúbos, “hollow in the hips”), Albanian sup (“shoulder”), Sanskrit शुप्ति (śúpti, “shoulder”)), from *ḱew- (“to bend”). More at high. The sense "drug addict" derives from addicts lying on their hips while using certain drugs such as opium.
Etymology 2
From Middle English hepe, heppe, hipe, from Old English hēope, from Proto-Germanic *heupǭ (compare Dutch joop, German Hiefe, Faroese hjúpa), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- (“briar, thorn”) (compare Old Prussian kaāubri (“thorn”), Lithuanian kaubrė̃ (“heap”)).
Etymology 3
Unknown or disputed. Probably a variant of hep; both forms are attested from the first decade of the 20th century. Some sources suggest derivation from Wolof hepi (“to see”) or hipi (“to open one’s eyes”). Others suggest connection to the noun, as opium smokers were said to lie on a hip. Neither of these suggestions is widely accepted, however.