lip
noun
either of the two fleshy parts or folds forming the margins of the mouth and functioning in speech.
lip
1 American
[lip]
/ lɪp /
noun
-
lips
plural
-
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.
-
She usually wears a dramatic red lip.
-
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.
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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.
-
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)
-
lips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lipped,
past participle, past
-
lipping
present participle
-
to touch with the lips.
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Golf. to hit the ball over the rim of (the hole).
-
to utter, especially softly.
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to kiss.
verb (used without object)
-
lips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lipped,
past participle, past
-
lipping
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
-
hang on the lips of, to listen to very attentively.
The members of the club hung on the lips of the visiting lecturer.
-
smack one's lips, to indicate one's keen enjoyment or pleasurable anticipation of.
We smacked our lips over the delicious meal.
-
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,
-
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.
-
-
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
-
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
-
( 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
-
slang impudent talk or backchat
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the embouchure and control in the lips needed to blow wind and brass instruments
-
-
to stifle one's feelings
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to be annoyed or irritated
-
-
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
-
to anticipate or recall something with glee or relish
verb
-
(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
-
(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
-
lipssimple
-
have lippedperfect
-
has lippedperfect
-
am lippingprogressive
-
are lippingprogressive
-
is lippingprogressive
-
have been lippingperfect progressive
-
has been lippingperfect progressive
Past
-
lippedsimple
-
had lippedperfect
-
was lippingprogressive
-
were lippingprogressive
-
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:
A life-threatening medical emergency is to him what a chapped lip is to most of us.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
He said he did this to loosen up his neck, cheekbone and jaw bone muscles in order to get his lip on to his nose.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
When she pronounced the sentence, Jester, now 6 feet 2, bowed his head, bit his lip and nodded.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
My perverse love for lip stuff traces back to when I was 4 and first tried on my grandmother’s Clinique lipstick in Raspberry Glace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
A smirk showed at one end of her lip.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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
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
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
To keep the theme going, my colleagues rooted around for some of Slate’s best stories from the mid-aughts midterm year that’s on everyone’s lips.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026
Symptoms of the disease include nasal discharge, redness and swelling of the lips, nose and muzzle, lameness or reluctance to stand, a decrease in milk production, and diarrhoea in cattle.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Its mouth is triangular, divided into three lips, and surrounded by sensory tendrils, giving it an appearance reminiscent of a tiny marine Sarlacc pit.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
He had no problem communicating with coaches and teammates as long as they stood in front of him, where he could read their lips.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
His moustache rode up and down like a wooly worm as he twiddled his lips, studying me.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
So many of the greats have triumphed at Sawgrass, but no-one had won the title in consecutive years, until Wyndham Clark lipped out on the last to hand victory to Scheffler last March.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 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
Spieth had missed the green to the left, chipped to about 4 feet and lipped out.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2024
A second wave collapsed over my feet, lipped with white froth, and the chill gripped my ankles with a mortal ache.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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
Zhang, who won in her professional debut in New Jersey state a year ago, had a 67 after lipping out on a short birdie putt at No. 18.
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2024
If someone would have said, the day I was back lipping it, that someone’s going to come here and do a nollie 270 switch back lip I wouldn’t even know what to say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2022
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.
