noun

pip

pihp

noun

A small hard seed found in fruits such as apples, oranges, or grapes.

"She spat out the pips as she ate the orange."

A short, high-pitched electronic beep, especially one used to mark time (such as a radio time signal).

"Listeners set their watches by the pips on the radio."

One of the small marks or symbols on a playing card, die, or domino, or a rank badge worn on a military uniform.

"The dice showed six pips on each face."

How to Use Pip

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA small fruit seed, a short electronic beep, or one of the dot-markings on dice, cards, or a military uniform.

UK vs US

The radio time-signal sense ("the pips") is distinctly British.

Common pairings

apple pip the pips on the radio squeeze until the pips squeak

Word Forms

pipped past tense, pipped past tense, pipped past tense, pips plural, pips plural, pips plural, Pips plural, pips plural, pips singular, pips singular, pips singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

She spat out the _____ as she ate the orange.

Etymology

From Middle English pippe, tracing back to Latin pituita ("phlegm, mucus"), an unusual detour before it settled on "seed."