quip

[kwip]

noun

1. a clever or witty remark or comment.

   Synonyms: witticism, joke

2. a sharp, sarcastic remark; a cutting jest.

   Synonyms: jape, sally, gibe

3. a quibble.

4. an odd or fantastic action or thing.

verb (used without object)

quipped, quipping 

1. to utter quips.

quip

/ kwɪp /

noun

1. a sarcastic or cutting remark; gibe

2. a witty or clever saying

   a merry quip

3. archaic,  another word for quibble

verb

1. (intr) to make a quip

Other Word Forms

• quippish adjective
• quippishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of quip¹

1525–35; back formation from quippy quip < Latin quippe indeed

Word History and Origins

Origin of quip¹

C16: from earlier quippy, probably from Latin quippe indeed, to be sure

Example Sentences

When asked after the game about a particularly labored stretch during the second quarter, James quipped that it wasn’t just that moment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I feel like I’m already a student here,” Santiago quipped.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Groucho Marx quipped that he wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would accept him as a member.

Read more on Barron's

One quip was about how the BBC plays the children’s game musical chairs: “When the music stops, they put in another chair.’

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In one of many quips in “Modernism,” he remarks that “novelty is just the same old thing.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• banter 
• gag 
• gibe 
• pleasantry 
• pun 
• repartee 
• retort 
• satire 
• wisecrack 
• witticism