potato chip
Americannoun
-
potato chips
plural
noun
-
(usually plural) another name for chip
-
Also called (in eg Britain): crisp. (usually plural) a very thin slice of potato fried and eaten cold as a snack
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of potato chip
First recorded in 1835–45
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.
This is essentially “shrinkflation,” like when a potato chip manufacturer keeps prices steady but puts fewer chips in the bag.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Boulder Canyon is the No. 1 potato chip brand in the “natural” snack food channel.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
"I just pop it in my mouth like a potato chip," she said, adding that it feels like a "healthier alternative".
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
A moment where Ruth sees a woman wearing a potato chip clip as a hair adornment captures that atmosphere.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2025
Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their comers, sank into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
![]()
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.