blip
Americannoun
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Also called pip. Electronics.
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a spot of light on a radar screen indicating the position of a plane, submarine, or other object.
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(loosely) any small spot of light on a display screen.
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a brief upturn, as in revenue or income.
The midwinter blip was no cause for optimism among store owners.
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anything small, as in amount or number.
a blip of light; Those opposed were merely a blip in the opinion polls.
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Slang. a nickel; five cents.
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Movies. a mark of synchronization on a sound track.
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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.
verb (used without object)
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blips,
present (3rd person singular)
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blipped,
past participle, past
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blipping
present participle
verb (used with object)
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blips,
present (3rd person singular)
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blipped,
past participle, past
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blipping
present participle
noun
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a repetitive sound, such as that produced by an electronic device, by dripping water, etc
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Also called: pip. the spot of light or a sharply peaked pulse on a radar screen indicating the position of an object
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a temporary irregularity recorded in performance of something
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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blipsimple
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blipssimple
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have blippedperfect
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has blippedperfect
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am blippingprogressive
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are blippingprogressive
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is blippingprogressive
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have been blippingperfect progressive
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has been blippingperfect progressive
Past
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blippedsimple
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had blippedperfect
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was blippingprogressive
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were blippingprogressive
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had been blippingperfect progressive
Future
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Both parties will be hoping that last season was merely a blip and more memories are going to be made.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Tuba, or tubá, is one of many undersung wonders of tiny Colima state, a place that barely makes a blip on most international and even domestic tourists’ radar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
The high volatility during Tuesday’s trading session could wind up being a momentary blip as the hardware-infrastructure buildup to support generative artificial intelligence continues.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
U.S. corn prices, after a wartime blip, are back near their lowest point since the 2020 pandemic year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
A single blip written into the software and every single piece of information in the Stormbreaker software could be destroyed at any time.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
Against that backdrop, shares of Wingstop were down 4.8% on Wednesday, after occasional positive-territory blips earlier in the day.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
But, judging by the evidence of the first two days, it does not feel like there will be any blips.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
"For a long time, no one knew quite what to make of these oddball little blips of dimming," Bouma said.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2026
Three others crowded into the darkened shack offering advice and helping spot blips on the screen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
I’ve set the record button this time, so I can hear myself play, find the blips I need to smooth out.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
Fifteen-year, fixed rate mortgage rates blipped up to 2.42% from 2.39% last week; it was 2.28% a year ago.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2021
Both Sam and Bucky are among the populace that had been blipped out of existence five years ago and are suddenly without one of their closest friends — Captain America.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2021
As per Monica’s conversation with the doctor, she was one of the people who was blipped, and must now reintegrate into a society that’s moved on without her.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2021
The first data ever transmitted over Arpanet, the precursor of the internet, blipped from a computer at the University of California, Los Angeles to one at the Stanford Research Institute in Palo Alto on Oct.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 28, 2019
The static blipped and focused as the stations turned.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Take “First Rodeo,” a sleek midtempo track with twangy guitars and blipping synths in which Ballerini extends a metaphor about getting back on the horse further than you’d think possible without breaking it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2024
And a beat kicks in with trap drums and blipping synthesizers behind Killer Mike, who boasts in quick triplets: “I’m never chillin’, I gotta make millions.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
Five police cars drove by, sirens blipping, and neighbors and friends drove by as well, holding signs of support.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 18, 2020
United are "monitoring" the Aalesunds No1, presumably on a black and green radar screen making an irregular blipping noise.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 29, 2010
Tubes and cables snaked across his body, coiled into his flesh, and wound in a tangle up to an incomprehensible mesh of blipping waveforms and drip-dropping fluid pouches.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
