lip
noun
either of the two fleshy parts or folds forming the margins of the mouth and functioning in speech.
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l-p-.
lip
1 American
[lip]
/ lɪp /
noun
-
lips
plural
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either of the two fleshy parts or folds forming the margins of the mouth and functioning in speech.
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Usually lips these parts as organs of speech.
I heard it from his own lips.
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She usually wears a dramatic red lip.
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a projecting edge on a container or other hollow object.
the lip of a pitcher.
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a liplike part or structure, especially of anatomy.
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any edge or rim.
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the edge of an opening or cavity, as of a canyon or a wound.
the lip of the crater.
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Slang. impudent talk; back talk.
Don't give me any of your lip.
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Botany. either of the two parts into which the corolla or calyx of certain plants, especially of the mint family, is divided.
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Zoology.
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a labium.
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the outer or the inner margin of the aperture of a gastropod's shell.
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Music. the position and arrangement of lips and tongue in playing a wind instrument; embouchure.
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the cutting edge of a tool.
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the blade, at the end of an auger, which cuts the chip after it has been circumscribed by the spur.
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(in a twist drill) the cutting edge at the bottom of each flute.
adjective
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of or relating to the lips or a lip.
lip ointment.
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characterized by or made with the lips.
to read lip movements.
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superficial or insincere.
to offer lip praise.
verb (used with object)
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lips,
present (3rd person singular)
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lipped,
past participle, past
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lipping
present participle
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to touch with the lips.
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Golf. to hit the ball over the rim of (the hole).
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to utter, especially softly.
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to kiss.
verb (used without object)
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lips,
present (3rd person singular)
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lipped,
past participle, past
-
lipping
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
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hang on the lips of, to listen to very attentively.
The members of the club hung on the lips of the visiting lecturer.
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smack one's lips, to indicate one's keen enjoyment or pleasurable anticipation of.
We smacked our lips over the delicious meal.
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button one's lip, to keep silent, especially, to refrain from revealing information: Also button up.
They told him to button his lip if he didn't want trouble.
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keep a stiff upper lip,
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to face misfortune bravely and resolutely.
Throughout the crisis they kept a stiff upper lip.
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to suppress the display of any emotion.
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bite one's lip / tongue, to repress one's anger or other emotions.
He wanted to return the insult, but bit his lip.
lip-
2
American
lip
1
British
/ lɪp /
noun
-
anatomy
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either of the two fleshy folds surrounding the mouth, playing an important role in the production of speech sounds, retaining food in the mouth, etc
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( as modifier )
lip salve
-
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the corresponding part in animals, esp mammals
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any structure resembling a lip, such as the rim of a crater, the margin of a gastropod shell, etc
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slang impudent talk or backchat
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the embouchure and control in the lips needed to blow wind and brass instruments
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to stifle one's feelings
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to be annoyed or irritated
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slang to stop talking: often imperative
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to maintain one's courage or composure during a time of trouble without giving way to or revealing one's emotions
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to anticipate or recall something with glee or relish
verb
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(tr) to touch with the lip or lips
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(tr) to form or be a lip or lips for
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rare (tr) to murmur or whisper
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(intr) to use the lips in playing a wind instrument
lip-
2
British
combining form
lip
More Idioms
Usage
What does lip- mean? Lip- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “fat.” It is used in many scientific and medical terms. Lip- comes from the Greek lípos, meaning “fat.” It is not related to lip, as in the part of the mouth; that word is actually connected to the combining form labio-. The combining form lip- is also not to be confused with a second sense of lipo- meaning “lacking” or “leaving.”Lip- is a variant of lipo-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use lipo- article. You can also learn about the “lacking” sense of lipo- in this article.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lipsimple
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lipssimple
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have lippedperfect
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has lippedperfect
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am lippingprogressive
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are lippingprogressive
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is lippingprogressive
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have been lippingperfect progressive
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has been lippingperfect progressive
Past
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lippedsimple
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had lippedperfect
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was lippingprogressive
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were lippingprogressive
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had been lippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lip
First recorded before 1000; Middle English lip(pe), Old English lippa; cognate with Dutch lip, German Lippe; akin to Norwegian lepe, Latin labium
Explanation
Your lips are the external, fleshy part of your mouth. You have a top lip and a bottom lip. Lips are what make kissing possible. Lips are useful when it comes to speaking, eating, and kissing. If you say that something is "on everyone's lips," you mean that it's the topic everyone seems to be talking about lately. If an angry teacher says, "Don't give me any lip!" he means "Don't be a smart mouth," or "Don't be impertinent." When you manage to keep a "stiff upper lip," you stay brave even when things get difficult.
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:
The two sides played nice in the heady days of 2025, when the midterms were far enough off in the distance and everyone was willing to pay lip service to Piker’s more exotic ideas.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
And he says leave that lip liner until last - it'll just "highlight how wonky your drawing skills are".
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
She pulls a hand-held camera from her purse, adjusts her soft curls, and applies a fresh coat of lip gloss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Kennedy has paid lip service to the value of the MMR vaccine, which combines immunizations for measles, mumps and rubella.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
I just give her a slight nod, then look away and bite my lower lip to keep from imploding.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Phil New Music Group and the Master Chorale, conducted by Gershon, lip- and instrument-synced amazingly to the film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024
While staying mum on any details of the ceremony, Peters, a no-nonsense former captain of the Australian baseball team, promised all the singing would be live - no lip- synching.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 2, 2018
Out on some piece of road in Wartrace, Tenn., he grabs his guitar and starts lip- syncing the words to I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried.
From Time Magazine Archive
We learned to lip- read, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways, watching each other’s mouths.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Decked out in a glittering blue sari, Shanti stood front and center, lip- synching to the Indian love song.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Official figures show that over 6,000 people died in the horrific earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June, but authorities are keeping their lips sealed about how many more are missing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
At the end of the debut episode of “The Real Food Show,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spears a single bite of salmon cake and brings it to his lips.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
With the sun setting, he leads his team into a hardscrabble neighbourhood where windows are sealed off behind metal grills, and lips are sealed by fear.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Son put his finger to his lips in the universal “shhh” sign and then did his patented camera celebration — click! — miming a snapshot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
His words drop from his lips like stones, their weight practically makes divots in the snow.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
"I was emotional after the putt lipped in," said Schauffele.
From BBC ● May 19, 2024
A long birdie putt at No. 18 lipped out.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2024
Eventually, Ricardo loses on his final stroke—his ball does “a full wrap around the hole but lipped out”—and Adams wins.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2024
Schauffele had a chance for a share of second, but his birdie putt at 18 lipped out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2024
I study the youthful parody shape in the mirror: the stomach lipped tight by muscle; the shoulders rounded by chin-ups; the arms veined strong.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
He then missed good birdie chances at 13, 14 and 15, also lipping out at 17 as he matched the 2019 36-hole record score of Brooks Koepka at 12 under par.
From BBC ● May 17, 2024
So he wasn’t there to see Barjon take a double bogey on 18, slicing his drive into the woods, blasting out of a greenside bunker, then lipping out a 10-foot bogey putt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
Mickelson opened with a birdie on the par-5 first hole and had four more on the back nine, including a tap-in on 18 after lipping out for eagle.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 11, 2021
Matsuyama had the shortest attempt - from 20 feet - and it nearly went in the cup before lipping out.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 8, 2021
They looked like beavers, the water lipping about their chins, yelling.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
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.
