flip
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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flips,
present (3rd person singular)
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flipped,
past participle, past
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flipping
present participle
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to toss or put in motion with a sudden impulse, as with a snap of a finger and thumb, especially so as to cause to turn over in the air.
to flip a coin.
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to move (something) suddenly or jerkily.
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to turn over, especially with a short rapid gesture.
to flip pancakes with a spatula.
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to cause to switch from one political party or candidate to another.
Republicans flipped the Senate and increased their majority in the House.
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Slang.
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to provide incriminating evidence about (an associate or accomplice); inform on.
I only work with people I know won’t flip me.
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to turn into an informer.
The prosecutor will try to flip the defendant in exchange for a reduced sentence.
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to buy and sell (real estate or another asset) for a quick profit.
The buyer flipped the house for double what he paid for it, just nine months after renovations were completed.
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to change (an opinion, stance, or way of thinking).
Federal courts had ruled the practice unconstitutional, but an appeals judge flipped the decision.
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Slang. to make (someone) insane, irrational, angry, or highly excited (usually followed byout ).
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Finance. to resell, especially quickly, or to refinance, as a mortgage loan.
verb (used without object)
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flips,
present (3rd person singular)
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flipped,
past participle, past
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flipping
present participle
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to make a flicking movement; strike at something smartly or sharply; snap.
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to move oneself with or as if with flippers.
The seals flipped along the beach.
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to move with a jerk or jerks.
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to turn over or perform a somersault in the air.
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to switch from one political party or candidate to another: Last November, most state legislatures saw fewer than five seats flip one way or the other.
Formerly Democratic, our state has flipped to become red.
Last November, most state legislatures saw fewer than five seats flip one way or the other.
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Slang to provide incriminating evidence about an associate or accomplice; inform on.
They wanted me to flip on the guy who sold me the drugs.
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to change one’s opinion, stance, or way of thinking.
The CEO has been accused of flipping on the issue of employee vacation time.
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to shift from one state, position, etc., to another.
My mood seems to flip 180 degrees without any obvious triggers.
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Slang.
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to react to something in an excited, astonished, or delighted manner.
He really flipped over his new girlfriend.
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to become insane, irrational, angry, or highly excited (often followed byout ).
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noun
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an instance of flipping; a smart tap or strike.
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a sudden jerk.
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a somersault, especially one performed in the air.
a back flip off the diving board.
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Cards. a variety of seven-card stud in which each player receives the first four cards facedown and selects two of them to expose before receiving the next card.
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Slang. flip side.
idioms
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flip one's lid / wig, lid.
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flip (someone) the bird, give (someone) the finger.
noun
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a mixed drink made with liquor or wine, sugar, and egg, topped with powdered nutmeg and served hot or cold.
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a drink, popular especially in the 18th century, made with beer or ale mixed with rum or other liquor, sweetened and served hot.
adjective
verb
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to throw (something light or small) carelessly or briskly; toss
he flipped me an envelope
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to throw or flick (an object such as a coin) so that it turns or spins in the air
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to propel by a sudden movement of the finger; flick
to flip a crumb across the room
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(foll by through) to read or look at (a book, newspaper, etc) quickly, idly, or incompletely
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(intr) (of small objects) to move or bounce jerkily
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(intr) to make a snapping movement or noise with the finger and thumb
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slang (intr) to fly into a rage or an emotional outburst (also in the phrases flip one's lid, flip one's top, flip out )
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slang (intr) to become ecstatic or very excited
he flipped over the jazz group
noun
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a snap or tap, usually with the fingers
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a rapid jerk
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a somersault, esp one performed in the air, as in a dive, rather than from a standing position
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same as nog 1
adjective
Usage
Where does flip come from? When it comes to studying the origins of words, it’s easy to overlook—and take for granted—everyday, unassuming words, like flip. But oftentimes, the story behind these most basic of words can provide great insights into how words work. Flip is first recorded around 1585–95. It appears to be related to, and may even be a contraction of, the word fillip. This word means “to strike with the nail of a finger snapped from the end of the thumb.” Compared to flip, fillip is less common but older, recorded around 1425–75. While the ultimate origin of fillip is unknown, etymologists think the word is what’s called expressive. While imitative words evoke the actual sound of a word being defined (boom), the sound of expressive words can conjure up a particular emotion, sensation, shape, movement, and so on. So, a word like fillip evokes the movement involved in the action of fillipping. Try flipping—or filliping—your thumb and index finger. Can you hear how the words evoke such finger flicking? And use of the word flick is no accident here. Flick is very similar in sense and form, imitating the sound of flicking something. Dig deeperLike flick, the word flip also brings to mind flop, as in flip-flop and its variant, flip-flap. Flop itself originates as a variant of flap. Flip-flops, like the kind of sandals you might wear at the pool, are so named for the sound they make when you walk in them. Flip, flap, flop, flick—the initial cluster, fl-, in English is associated with flittering, fluttering, flitting motion. This relationship between the sound fl- and the meaning of unsteady movement is called sound symbolism. Sound symbolism is the “nonarbitrary connection between phonetic features of linguistic items and their meanings, as in the frequent occurrence of close vowels in words denoting smallness, as petite and teeny-weeny.”One commonly cited example of sound symbolism in English is how many words dealing with light begin with the cluster gl-: glance, glare, glimmer, glitter, and glimpse, to name a few. Can you think of other words to add to this list?One the most familiar forms of sound symbolism is onomatopoeia, the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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flipsimple
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flipssimple
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have flippedperfect
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has flippedperfect
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am flippingprogressive
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are flippingprogressive
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is flippingprogressive
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have been flippingperfect progressive
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has been flippingperfect progressive
Past
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flippedsimple
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had flippedperfect
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was flippingprogressive
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were flippingprogressive
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had been flippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of flip1
First recorded in 1585–95; 1955–60 flip 1 for def. 18; see origin at fillip
Origin of flip2
First recorded in 1690–1700; perhaps noun use of flip 1, so called from tossing or flipping of ingredients in preparation
Origin of flip3
First recorded in 1840–50; adjective use of flip 1
Explanation
To flip is to turn or toss upside down, like flipping a mattress over. People flip out when excited, and a flip remark is disrespectful. There are many types of flips and flipping. Gymnasts who turn themselves upside down are doing flips. Turning a pancake over is flipping it. Any quick, light motion can be described as a flip, like a quarterback flipping the ball to a receiver. When someone is extremely excited — and usually mad — they flip out. Also, flip comments are casual, quick, and disrespectful.
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:
“Just trying not to flip the barrel so soon,” Bates said of what Ohtani has focused on mechanically.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
The flip side of all of this pain is that higher yields make bonds a more attractive investment for investors.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
On the flip side, are these mid-tier cards becoming a bigger customer-acquisition channel for participating brands like retailers and restaurant chains?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Manchester United constantly seem to flip between feast and famine, when often they've simply been fine.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
My stomach does a little flip as Captain Smith leads her over to Richard and me.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
Even if you look slightly farther afield—specifically to a Montecito home that was bought by A-list home flipper Ellen DeGeneres in November 2025—it’s clear that price estimates don’t always reflect a home’s true value.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
The three-bedroom, one-bath home was dilapidated before an out-of-state house flipper fixed it up, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
One ex-house flipper said he’d experimented with 50 AI-generated business ideas before landing on one he liked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
“The entangled line severely damaged a front flipper, cutting off blood supply,” Dr. Lance Adams, the aquarium’s director of veterinary services, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Their bodies were sleek and black like sea mammals, with stubby legs that were half flipper, half foot, and humanlike hands with sharp claws.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
His code is the survival of the flippest, and he talks a lingo as forthright and gamy, in its way, as a soldier’s.
From Time ● Jan. 27, 2015
His code is the survival of the flippest, and he talks a lingo as forthright and gamy, in its way, as a soldier's.
From Time Magazine Archive
But according to Wainwright, she particularly enjoyed spending time in the surf town: “She loved doing her flips in Laguna.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
The team developed an AI-based controller that allows the robotic bug to perform demanding aerial maneuvers, including repeated body flips.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
That does not mean the weather suddenly changes when the calendar flips to 1 September.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
As orders flood into the restaurant via online food delivery services and a walk-up window, a butcher slices through whole chickens while one cook flips thin slabs of steak and chicken on a grill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
While his assistant is pouring the sand, Phineas flips his tamping iron around from the pointy end to the round end for tamping.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Ranganathan offered: "The person that we nominated as our most trustworthy person, we have now completely flipped on."
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Two games into the postseason, that script has flipped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
But that’s when a series of bizarre and unlikely events flipped this clash between two title hopefuls upside down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
“I flipped the light switch on and took about two more steps, and there’s a man standing there,” Roebuck recalls, “a little short guy, holding a rifle in his hand.”
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Ella waved her hand over the latches and the lids flipped shut.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
The tornado injured two people and caused damage to buildings with the strong winds flipping cars according to local media.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
In those famous cases that led to crises, the Fed was flipping the narrative; in this case, it is simply trying to find a level of rates that would put some downward pressure on inflation.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
Lyons had ruffled feathers by flipping an organizational chart upside down at a sales meeting and urging the sales force to challenge conventional wisdom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
By flipping out at anyone who brings it up, they’re only ensuring more people are paying attention.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
Stephanie is sitting at one of the stations in the back flipping through a magazine.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
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.
