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tortilla chip

tortilla chip

6 1.2
A thin, crisp snack made from corn and often eaten with dips
  • noun
  • /tɔrˈtiːjə tʃɪp/
translation icon : totopos
  • - Too many tortilla chips.

I like guacamole because it's yummy and you can eat it with crackers or tortilla chips.

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Examples

  • Let's round things out with these cheesy Nacho flavored tortilla chips, shall we?

  • Five minutes later, Lois reappeared with a small cooler and a bag of tortilla chips.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • And some of those tortilla chips.

  • But who stops at ten tortilla chips?

    Blog text (8)
  • 6) Lay out a layer of tortilla chips on a baking sheet.

    Blog text (34)
  • I glanced at the answering machine as I dumped the tortilla chips into a bowl.

    Blog text (26)
  • Or instead of tortilla chips, I'll use carrots for the guac.

    Blog text (30)
  • Each meal starts with house-made tortilla chips and three kinds of salsa.

    Blog text (2)
  • After the washer's hooked up in the pantry, Julio opens a plastic tub of salsa, along with a bag of tortilla chips, and sets them on his rickety kitchen table.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I enjoyed dipping the crispy tortilla chips into the spicy salsa at the party.

Synonyms

nacho
vstortilla chip
58 2.6

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

is usually eaten plain or dipped rather than served with full toppings
corn chip
vstortilla chip
  • US
5 1.0

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

is made from thin baked or fried flatbread and served with dips
nachos
vstortilla chip
1.0

Thin crispy tortilla chips eaten plain as a snack

is usually eaten with dips or served alongside sauces

How Crisp

to toast
57 1.0
tortilla chip
6 1.2
baked
1 1.0

Surface Forms

tortilla chip singular

Morphology

tortilla + chip

The meaning 'a thin crisp piece made from a tortilla' is directly and compositionally derivable from combining 'tortilla' (flatbread) with 'chip' (a small crisp piece/snack). Although 'chip' is often associated with potato, English regularly extends it to other bases (e.g. corn/tortilla), and the construction is transparent and readily interpretable by learners who know both words.

Etymology

Tortilla chip comes from a simple kitchen idea: people cut a soft tortilla into small pieces and fry or bake them until they are crisp 'chips'. Because these crunchy pieces are made for dipping, the name now means a thin, crisp piece eaten as a 'snack' with dips.