to chip
104
2.3
- 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.
- Don't get me wrong, it's glossy, but it chips so fast.
- We can chip away by you being here, chip away, right?
- You can have to chip out of that now.
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?
-
- See, it's little things like this that just chip away at trust.
-
You got to chip away at a problem.
-
Just chip a bit of pastry off the side.
-
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.
-
To restore the old table, I need to chip away any flaking paint before applying a new coat.
Synonyms
80
6.5
To break hard ground or ice by striking with a tool
33
3.5
To make a small cut on the skin or a surface, often by accident
28
2.8
To make a piece come away from something by hitting or bending it
24
4.2
To make something smaller or weaker by removing small parts slowly
21
3.9
To break into many small, sharp pieces like wood or glass
18
4.6
Gradually make something weaker by repeated small actions
9
3.5
To break a piece from something with a quick, sharp movement
1
3.9
To remove small pieces from a surface by cutting or hitting it
1
9.9
To shape or break stone by hitting it to make tools like arrowheads
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
7
4.4
A person who is very like one of their parents in looks or behaviour
- Informal
Strong anger or hurt about being treated unfairly in the past
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Specialized
4
4.1
A share of a large, well-known company that is safe and pays steady dividends
- Specialized
3
3.7
A small, flat piece of material with tiny electronic parts that makes computers and phones work
- Specialized
1
6.1
A short low golf shot that makes the ball run along the ground toward the hole
- Specialized
1
4.4
An electronic device put in the brain that records and plays back a person's past events or feelings
- Specialized
1
4.4
A small electronic part inside a device that controls its actions and calculations
- Specialized
A small device with many tiny DNA pieces that tests many genes in a sample
How Damaging
Surface Forms
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.