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Glite Dictionary
corn chip

corn chip

5 1.0
A thin crunchy snack made from corn and fried, often salted or flavored
  • noun
  • /kɔrn tʃɪp/
  • US
translation icon : totopos
  • I threw a bag of blue corn chips on the counter and opened a jar of chunky salsa.
  • a bag of corn chips
  • blue corn chips
  • corn chips with a dip

So I go into our snack box and I just go hmm do I want corn chip or do I want sesame bar which sounds weird but it is so good.

Examples

  • Bill Clinton's favorite is corn chips with a dip made of bottled salsa and Velveeta cheese melted in the microwave.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • We put on our bathing suits, bought tuna sandwiches, corn chips, soda, and wildly overpriced shorts of sparkling apple cider from the twenty-four-hour cafe.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Yeah, I still think that the the first one is a white corn chip, and this one is a yellow.

  • Myself, I kind of like that corn chip smell.

    Mulan (1998)

  • A plate of blue corn chips and hummus was placed before us.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • She's eating corn chips, but I'm too nervous to join in.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • For dinner, Mama brought out a bag of corn chips and poured canned chili on top.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Seagulls swooped down and fought for the scattered corn chips, squawking and flapping their wings, until only one of them was left, gorging on Boyle's debris.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • At the party, everyone enjoyed dipping their corn chips into the spicy salsa.

  • She opened a bag of corn chips to share while watching the movie.

Synonyms

nacho
vscorn chip
58 2.6

A crisp tortilla chip topped with melted cheese and often meat or jalapeños

is a thin fried cornmeal snack usually served salted or flavored
tortilla chip
vscorn chip
6 1.2

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

is made specifically from fried cornmeal dough and usually salted or flavored
nachos
vscorn chip
1.0

Thin crispy tortilla chips eaten plain as a snack

is the individual fried cornmeal snack usually salted or flavored

Surface Forms

corn chip singular
corn chips plural

Morphology

corn + chip

The meaning 'a thin, crisp snack made from corn' is directly and compositionally derived from 'corn' (the ingredient/material) + 'chip' (a thin, crispy snack). This material+product noun-noun compounding is a common and productive pattern in English (and many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Corn chip comes from its two literal parts: a small chip made from corn dough, like a tiny fried 'tortilla'. People cut flat tortillas into pieces and fry or bake them until they are crisp, so the name now means a thin, crunchy 'snack'.