Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

potato chip

American  

noun

  • potato chips
    plural
  1. a thin slice of potato fried until crisp and usually salted.


potato chip British  

noun

  1. (usually plural) another name for chip

  2. Also called (in eg Britain): crisp(usually plural) a very thin slice of potato fried and eaten cold as a snack

"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

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.

See Examples For:

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

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training