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• blue chip
  blue chip

  noun

  a blue-colored chip of high value.
• blue-chip
  blue-chip

  adjective

  of, relating to, or constituting a blue chip.

blue chip

¹ American  

noun

1. Chiefly Poker. a blue-colored chip of high value.

2. a common stock issued by a major company that has financial strength, stability against fluctuations, and a good record of dividend payments: regarded as a low-risk investment.

3. a secure and valuable item or property held in reserve.

   The airfield was a blue chip in the struggle for military supremacy.

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blue-chip ² American  

[bloo-chip] / ˈbluˌtʃɪp /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or constituting a blue chip.

2. having outstanding or exemplary qualities within a specified category; leading.

   a group of blue-chip scientists; blue-chip stock.

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blue chip British  

noun

1. a gambling chip with the highest value

2. finance

   1. a stock considered reliable with respect to both dividend income and capital value

   2. ( as modifier )

      a blue-chip company

3. (modifier) denoting something considered to be a valuable asset

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Etymology

Origin of blue chip¹

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Origin of blue-chip²

First recorded in 1930–35

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blue chip blue-chip

Notice what this means for our hypothetical investor with a stock portfolio holding the DJIA’s blue chip stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

The quarterly warning was especially unusual coming from IBM, an American blue chip that held a reputation among investors for results that are steady, if unspectacular.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

But given its portfolio’s blue chip flavor—top holdings include Caterpillar, Johnson & Johnson and Exxon Mobil —investors should at least be able to count on steady payouts.

From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026

Some of the leaders in the space including San Francisco-based startups such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as blue chip tech giants including Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and Meta.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2025

Claw, whose exposed cards were a ten-spot and a jack, hesitated for a moment and tossed in a blue chip.

From Snowdrift A Story of the Land of the Strong Cold by James B. (James Beardsley) Hendryx

Last month, Nike was ejected from the S&P 100 stock market index of the biggest blue-chip firms in the US.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The company's notional valuation has nearly doubled since a funding round exactly a year ago, putting it within range of France's biggest blue-chip companies.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

Not because of his five-star, blue-chip status, leaving Warren High as the second-ranked prospect in the 2023 class and top-ranked recruit out of California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Breaching the country-club gates can sometimes require a hard-won fight, even for a Wall Street blue-chip name.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

“All in solid, safe blue-chip stocks and government bonds.”

From "Lawn Boy" by Gary Paulsen

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