What does "pip" mean?
Any of various respiratory diseases in birds, especially infectious coryza.
Pip
/pɪp/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any of various respiratory diseases in birds, especially infectious coryza.
- Grammar: pip is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: spot, abnormality, ace, acorn.
- Useful contrasts: blank, fail, flesh.
- Usage evidence: "What shall we do with the rubbish, Mr Wood?" asked Pip.
How to use "pip"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pip" 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 "pip" 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 "pip" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pip" 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 "pip" is acting as 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 "spot" 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 "pip", 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 Any of various respiratory diseases in birds, especially infectious coryza.
- 2 A pippin, seed of any kind. obsolete
- 3 One of the spots or symbols on a playing card, domino, die, etc.
- 4 One of a series of very short, electronically produced tones, used, for example, to count down the final few seconds before a given time or to indicate that a caller using a payphone needs to make further payment to continue the call.
"I could clearly hear the frequent cataclysms of the upstairs lavatory, and my day began with the pips for the morning news in Charlotte Lawless's kitchen."
- 5 The smallest price increment between two currencies in foreign exchange (forex) trading.
"The set-and-forget trader is playing fundamental direction and is seeking very large moves of 150 to 300 pips. This trader doesn't want to sit and watch the screen but play the longer moves and forces behind forex."
Show 20 more definitions
- 6 Acronym of picture-in-picture. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
- 7 Initialism of picture-in-picture. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
- 8 a radar echo displayed so as to show the position of a reflecting surface wordnet
- 9 Of humans, a disease, malaise or depression. dated, humorous
"1912, D. H. Lawrence, letter to Edward Garnett I've got the pip horribly at present."
- 10 A pippin, seed of any kind.; A seed inside certain fleshy fruits, such as the stone (pit) of a stonefruit or the smaller seeds of an orange or apple. UK, obsolete
"Apple pips are edible, but don't have a pleasant taste."
- 11 One of the stylised version of the Bath star worn on the shoulder of a uniform to denote rank, e.g. of a soldier or a fireman.
- 12 Acronym of predicted impact point. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
- 13 a mark on a die or on a playing card (shape depending on the suit) wordnet
- 14 Something or someone excellent, of high quality. US, colloquial
"She sure is a pip, that one. You need company?"
- 15 A spot; a speck.
- 16 Acronym of performance improvement plan. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
- 17 a small hard seed found in some fruits wordnet
- 18 P in RAF phonetic alphabet. British, World-War-I, dated
- 19 A spot of light or an inverted V indicative of a return of radar waves reflected from an object; a blip.
- 20 Acronym of product improvement program. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
- 21 a minor nonspecific ailment wordnet
- 22 A piece of rhizome with a dormant shoot of the lily of the valley plant, used for propagation
- 23 Acronym of peak inspiratory pressure. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
- 24 a disease of poultry wordnet
- 25 Acronym of personal independence payment. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To remove the pips from. transitive
"Peel and pip the grapes."
- 2 To get the better of; to defeat by a narrow margin. transitive
"He led throughout the race but was pipped at the post."
- 3 To peep, to chirp. intransitive
- 4 defeat thoroughly wordnet
- 5 To hit with a gunshot. transitive
"The hunter managed to pip three ducks from his blind."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To make the initial hole during the process of hatching from an egg.
- 7 hit with a missile from a weapon wordnet
- 8 kill by firing a missile wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive form of the given names Philip, Phillip, Pippi and Philippa.
"My father’s family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip."
- 2 The 1914 Star or 1914–15 Star medal. UK, World-War-I, slang
- 3 Acronym of Peripheral Interchange Program. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, historical
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
""What shall we do with the rubbish, Mr Wood?" asked Pip."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pip"?
Common synonyms include: spot, abnormality, ace, acorn, acute disease, affection.
How do you use "pip" in a sentence?
"What shall we do with the rubbish, Mr Wood?" asked Pip.
How do you pronounce "pip"?
Pronounced /pɪp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English pippe, from Middle Dutch pip, from post-classical Latin pipita, from Latin pītuīta (“mucus, phlegm, head cold”). Doublet of pituita.
Etymology 2
Apparently representing a shortened form of pippin, from Middle English pipin, from Old French pepin (“a seed”) (French pépin).
Etymology 3
Origin uncertain; perhaps related to Etymology 2, above.
Etymology 4
Imitative.
Etymology 5
Abbreviation of percentage in point.
Etymology 6
An allusion to the newspaper cartoon strip Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.