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💾 A microchip 🍟 A snack 🪨 A small piece 🪨 To break off 🎰 Gambling tokens ⛳ To hit lightly ⛳ A short shot 💩 Dried dung 🪢 A float for measuring
to chip

to chip

86 2.3
To break off a small piece of an object
  • verb
  • /tʃɪp/
: astillar
  • Injustice like that can really, really chip away at you.
  • chip away
  • chip into small pieces
  • chip the wood

Don't get me wrong, it's glossy, but it chips so fast.

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Examples

  • To find the different layers, we chip gently away, millimeter by millimeter, using Exacto knives and rubber hammers.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Using a hammer and chisel, I can chip away at the stone to shape it more precisely.

  • We can chip away by you being here, chip away, right?

    The Drew Barrymore Show

  • - See, it's little things like this that just chip away at trust.

    Bedroom Story (2020)

  • You got to chip away at a problem.

    Proof (2005)

  • Just chip a bit of pastry off the side.

    The Duke (2021)

  • The few workers digging and chipping away at the packed dirt seem to be making little progress.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Murphy is cleaning the passageway, chipping away at carbon deposits and scrubbing down the wall.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • So bit by bit, we don't realize you're chipping away at our freedoms and liberties.

    God's Not Dead: We The People (2021)

  • To restore the old table, I need to chip away any flaking paint before applying a new coat.

Synonyms

to break off
vsto chip
71 2.8

To make a piece come away from something by hitting or bending it

is narrower, focusing on removing small pieces rather than any detachment
to nick
vsto chip
31 3.5

To make a small cut on the skin or a surface, often by accident

is involves breaking off small pieces rather than only cutting a notch
to chip away
vsto chip
29 4.2

To make something smaller or weaker by removing small parts slowly

is the simple act of breaking off single small pieces, not necessarily gradual
to chip away at
vsto chip
21 4.6

Gradually make something weaker by repeated small actions

is the basic physical act of removing small pieces by breaking
to splinter
vsto chip
20 3.9

To break into many small, sharp pieces like wood or glass

is breaking off small pieces usually for shaping, not wide fragmentation
to snap off
vsto chip
18 3.5

To break a piece from something with a quick, sharp movement

is slower or neutral, not necessarily sudden or forceful breaking
to pick
vsto chip
1 6.5

To break hard ground or ice by striking with a tool

is the same breaking action but without implying tool use
to knap
vsto chip
  • Specialized
1 9.9

To shape or break stone by hitting it to make tools like arrowheads

is general shaping by breaking small pieces not restricted to stone
to chip at
vsto chip
1 3.9

To remove small pieces from a surface by cutting or hitting it

is the general act of breaking off small pieces to cut or shape

Antonyms

repair
371 2.3

Work done to fix something that is broken

Idioms

chip on someone's shoulder
  • Informal
24 7.6

Strong anger or hurt about being treated unfairly in the past

chip off the old block
  • Informal
9 4.4

A person who is very like one of their parents in looks or behaviour

Phrasal Verbs

to chip in
41 3.2

Give money or help together to reach a shared goal

to chip away
29 4.2

To make something smaller or weaker by removing small parts slowly

to chip away at
21 4.6

Gradually make something weaker by repeated small actions

to chip off
8 3.2

Break a small piece from something by hitting or pressing it

to chip at
1 3.9

To remove small pieces from a surface by cutting or hitting it

Compounds

potato chip
  • US
60 1.0

A thin crispy slice of potato fried or baked and eaten as a snack

blue chip
26 4.2

A large well-known company whose shares people buy because they seem safe

chocolate chip cookie
26 1.0

A flat sweet baked biscuit with small pieces of chocolate

bargaining chip
22 3.4

A thing used to gain an advantage in talks by offering or keeping it back

corn chip
  • US
7 1.0

A thin crunchy snack made from corn and fried, often salted or flavored

tortilla chip
7 1.2

A thin, crisp snack made from corn and often eaten with dips

poker chip
5 3.0

A small round disk that stands for money in card games like poker

blue-chip stock
  • Specialized
5 4.1

A share of a large, well-known company that is safe and pays steady dividends

memory chip
  • Specialized
4 3.6

An electronic part inside a computer that stores data like RAM

silicon chip
  • Specialized
4 3.7

A small, flat piece of material with tiny electronic parts that makes computers and phones work

cow chip
  • NSFW
2 9.6

A flat dried piece of cow dung that people burn as fuel or throw in games

microprocessor chip
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A small electronic part inside a device that controls its actions and calculations

memory chip
  • Specialized
1 4.4

An electronic device put in the brain that records and plays back a person's past events or feelings

buffalo chip
  • US
1 9.9

A dried piece of buffalo dung used as fuel

chip shot
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A short low golf shot that makes the ball run along the ground toward the hole

white chip
1 4.1

A small gambling piece worth the lowest amount in a poker game

curry chip
  • UK
1 4.0

Fried potato chips coated with curry powder and served hot as a snack

DNA chip
  • Specialized
1 4.3

A small device with many pieces of DNA that tests genes in samples

blue chip
1 6.5

A poker chip with the most value in a game

gene chip
  • Specialized
1 6.6

A small device with many tiny DNA pieces that tests many genes in a sample

Saratoga chip
  • Archaic
1 8.4

A thin, crisp slice of potato fried in hot oil

tomorrow's chip paper
  • UK
1 9.5

News that is not important and quickly forgotten

read-only memory chip
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A small computer chip that stores data you cannot change

potato chip of the sea
  • Informal
8.4

A thin crispy snack made from roasted seaweed that people eat

How Damaging

to shatter
145 2.8
to break
∞ 1.0
to crack
327 1.0
to chip
86 2.3
to nick
31 3.5
to scuff
13 3.6

Surface Forms

chip infinitive
chipped past
chipped past participle
chipping present participle
chips third person singular

Etymology

Chip as a verb comes from the idea of making a chip — a small piece — so to 'chip' something is to break off little pieces or leave a small mark, which is why a cup or mug can be chipped.