blip

American  

[blip] / blɪp /

noun

1. Also called pip.  Electronics.

   1. a spot of light on a radar screen indicating the position of a plane, submarine, or other object.

   2. (loosely) any small spot of light on a display screen.

2. a brief upturn, as in revenue or income.

   The midwinter blip was no cause for optimism among store owners.

3. anything small, as in amount or number.

   a blip of light; Those opposed were merely a blip in the opinion polls.

4. bleep.

5. Slang. a nickel; five cents.

6. Movies. a mark of synchronization on a sound track.

7. a small or brief interruption, as in the continuity of a motion-picture film or the supply of light or electricity.

   There were blips in the TV film where the commercials had been edited out.

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verb (used without object)

blips, present (3rd person singular) blipped, past participle, past blipping present participle

1. Informal. to move or proceed in short, irregular, jerking movements.

   The stock market has blipped one point higher this week.

verb (used with object)

blips, present (3rd person singular) blipped, past participle, past blipping present participle

1. bleep.

blip British  

/ blɪp /

noun

1. a repetitive sound, such as that produced by an electronic device, by dripping water, etc

2. Also called: pip.  the spot of light or a sharply peaked pulse on a radar screen indicating the position of an object

3. a temporary irregularity recorded in performance of something

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verb

1. (intr) to produce such a noise

Other Word Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has blipped
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have blipped
  perfect
• are blipping
  progressive
• has been blipping
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am blipping
  progressive 1st person singular
• is blipping
  progressive 3rd person singular
• blips
  singular 3rd person
• have been blipping
  perfect progressive
• blipping
  participle

Past

• had blipped
  perfect
• had been blipping
  perfect progressive
• was blipping
  progressive singular
• were blipping
  progressive plural
• blipped
  participle
• blipped
  simple

Future

• will blip
  simple
• will have blipped
  perfect
• will have been blipping
  perfect progressive
• will be blipping
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of blip

1890–95, for an earlier sense; sound symbolism, with p for brevity and abrupt end of the impulse; bl- perhaps from blink

Example Sentences

“Backrooms” is a film only a 20-year-old — someone whose existence sits smack in-between decades of uniform past and the blip of a recent few years filled with massive change — could make.

From Salon • May 30, 2026

"Of course we want more British players in the top 100 and reaching the second weeks of Grand Slams - but we're in a blip at the moment," said former British number one Annabel Croft.

From BBC • May 29, 2026

The stock fell 16% over that period and investors were perhaps starting to question whether it would be more than a blip.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Wilson, who was born in Waco, Texas, and spent his career from the late 1960s on in New York, has hardly been more than a blip in his own country during the last decade.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

If either of them caught a blip from Pathfinder, they'd tell JPL.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Related Words

• glitch