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

“I had so much metal inside me, I thought I wouldn’t need a burial when I died—the undertaker could just pop me in the recycling bin,” he quips in “Last Rites.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

If “I ever joined an opinion” with such rhetoric, Scalia quipped, “I would hide my head in a bag.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The president recently quipped that perhaps the vaccine could be delayed until as late as age 12.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“If you don’t understand it,” he quipped, “you have four months to learn.”

Read more on Salon

“Better late than never,” he quipped Wednesday night.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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