chip in
Britishverb
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to contribute (money, time, etc) to a cause or fund
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(intr) to interpose a remark or interrupt with a remark
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Contribute money, help, or advice, as in If we all chip in we'll have enough to buy a suitable gift , or Everyone chipped in with ideas for the baby shower . Mark Twain used this term in Roughing It (1872): “I'll be there and chip in and help, too.” [Mid-1800s]
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In poker and other games, to put up chips or money as one's bet. For example, I'll chip in another hundred but that's my limit or, as Bret Harte put it in Gabriel Conroy (1876): “You've jest cut up thet rough with my higher emotions, there ain't enough left to chip in on a ten-cent ante.” [Mid-1800s]
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.
Samson is not the kind of batter who would consistently chip in with middling scores.
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026
Viewers chip in to pay for his airfare and lodging.
From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026
For example, an analog chip in a smartphone tells the main processor when a user is pressing the up or down button to control the volume.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 21, 2026
Lai added that the United States did not need to "to frame Taiwan as a bargaining chip in any discussions with China".
From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026
He popped another chip in his mouth and chomped on it.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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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.