lip

[lip]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lip ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

either of the two fleshy parts or folds forming the margins of the mouth and functioning in speech.

Usually lips. these parts as organs of speech: I heard it from his own lips.

a projecting edge on a container or other hollow object: the lip of a pitcher.

a liplike part or structure, especially of anatomy.

any edge or rim.

the edge of an opening or cavity, as of a canyon or a wound: the lip of the crater.

Slang. impudent talk; back talk: Don't give me any of your lip.

Botany. either of the two parts into which the corolla or calyx of certain plants, especially of the mint family, is divided.

Zoology.

a labium.
the outer or the inner margin of the aperture of a gastropod's shell.

Music. the position and arrangement of lips and tongue in playing a wind instrument; embouchure.

the cutting edge of a tool.

the blade, at the end of an auger, which cuts the chip after it has been circumscribed by the spur.

(in a twist drill) the cutting edge at the bottom of each flute.

adjective

of or relating to the lips or a lip: lip ointment.

characterized by or made with the lips: to read lip movements.

superficial or insincere: to offer lip praise.

verb (used with object), lipped, lip·ping.

to touch with the lips.

Golf. to hit the ball over the rim of (the hole).

to utter, especially softly.

to kiss.

verb (used without object), lipped, lip·ping.

to use the lips in playing a musical wind instrument.

Verb Phrases

lip off, Slang. to talk impudently or belligerently.

Nearby words

Idioms

bite one's lip/tongue, to repress one's anger or other emotions: He wanted to return the insult, but bit his lip.

button one's lip, Slang. to keep silent, especially, to refrain from revealing information: They told him to button his lip if he didn't want trouble.Also button up.

hang on the lips of, to listen to very attentively: The members of the club hung on the lips of the visiting lecturer.

keep a stiff upper lip,

to face misfortune bravely and resolutely: Throughout the crisis they kept a stiff upper lip.
to suppress the display of any emotion.

smack one's lips, to indicate one's keen enjoyment or pleasurable anticipation of: We smacked our lips over the delicious meal.

Origin of lip

before 1000; Middle English lip(pe), Old English lippa; cognate with Dutch lip, German Lippe; akin to Norwegian lepe, Latin labium

Related formslip·less, adjectivelip·like, adjectiveout·lip, verb (used with object), out·lipped, out·lip·ping.un·der·lip, noun

lip-

variant of lipo-¹ before a vowel: lipectomy, libase, lipemia.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lip

She narrowed her eyes, bit her lip as if to chew over the question, and whisked some stray blond hairs away from her face.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Does it matter whether Taylor Swift wants me to inflate my Internet notoriety by doing a dumb thing where I lip sync to her music?
Death of the Author by Viral Infection: In Defense of Taylor Swift, Digital Doomsayer|Arthur Chu|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Zied suggests popping a breath strip, sucking on a strong mint, or reapplying your lip gloss.
12 Thanksgiving Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work|DailyBurn|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was very sincere and nice, but I saw him glance at the pink moustache across my lip.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

When I travel and kids run up to me, all that the girls want to do is look in my purse and put on my lip glosses and chapsticks.
Q&A With Designer Rachel Roy|Cynthia Allum|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His name is on every lip throughout China, his person in every imagination.
The Last Words of Distinguished Men and Women|Frederic Rowland Marvin
They were mere boys, clean of lip and chin and smooth of forehead, no wrinkles had ever traced a furrow there.
The Red Horizon|Patrick MacGill
The nervous system shows the strain it has borne by a tremulousness of the hand and of the lip, in man as well as in woman.
The Johnstown Horror|James Herbert Walker
Sibyl paused; the pause was a tribute to the force of the curl of her sister's lip.
It Never Can Happen Again|William De Morgan
She looked again at Berengère, who saw the glint of her green eyes and the old proud discontent twisting her lip, but did nothing.
The Life and Death of Richard Yea-and-Nay|Maurice Hewlett

British Dictionary definitions for lip

lip

noun

anatomy

either of the two fleshy folds surrounding the mouth, playing an important role in the production of speech sounds, retaining food in the mouth, etcRelated adjective: labial
(as modifier)lip salve

the corresponding part in animals, esp mammals

any structure resembling a lip, such as the rim of a crater, the margin of a gastropod shell, etc

a nontechnical word for labium, labellum (def. 1)

slang impudent talk or backchat

the embouchure and control in the lips needed to blow wind and brass instruments

bite one's lip

to stifle one's feelings
to be annoyed or irritated

button one's lip or button up one's lip slang to stop talking: often imperative

keep a stiff upper lip to maintain one's courage or composure during a time of trouble without giving way to or revealing one's emotions

lick one's lips or smack one's lips to anticipate or recall something with glee or relish

verb lips, lipping or lipped

(tr) to touch with the lip or lips

(tr) to form or be a lip or lips for

(tr) rare to murmur or whisper

(intr) to use the lips in playing a wind instrument

Word Origin for lip

Old English lippa; related to Old High German leffur, Norwegian lepe, Latin labium

lip-

combining form

a variant of lipo-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lip

lip

Old English lippa, from Proto-Germanic *lepjon (cf. Old Frisian lippa, Middle Dutch lippe, Dutch lip, Old High German lefs, German Lefze, Swedish läpp, Danish læbe), from PIE *leb- "to lick; lip" (cf. Latin labium).

French lippe is from a Germanic source. Transferred sense of "edge or margin of a cup, etc." is from 1590s. Slang sense "saucy talk" is from 1821, probably from move the lip (1570s) "utter even the slightest word (against someone)." To bite (one's) lip "show vexation" is from early 14c. Stiff upper lip as a sign of courage is from 1833. Lip gloss is attested from 1939; lip balm from 1877. Related: Lips.

lip

c.1600, "to kiss," from lip (n.). Meaning "to pronounce with the lips only" is from 1789. Related: Lipped; lipping.

Medicine definitions for lip

lip

[lĭp]

n.

Either of two fleshy folds that surround the opening of the mouth.

A liplike structure bounding or encircling a bodily cavity or groove.

lip-

pref.

Variant oflipo-

Idioms and Phrases with lip

lip

In addition to the idioms beginning with lip

lips are sealed, one's
lip service

also see:

button up (one's lip)
keep a stiff upper lip
lick one's chops (lips)
pass one's lips

lip

noun

adjective

verb (used with object), lipped, lip·ping.

verb (used without object), lipped, lip·ping.

Verb Phrases

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of lip

lip-

Examples from the Web for lip

lip

noun

verb lips, lipping or lipped

Word Origin for lip

lip-

combining form

lip

lip

lip

n.

lip-

pref.

lip