whip

American  

[hwip, wip] / ʰwɪp, wɪp /

verb (used with object)

• whips,
  present (3rd person singular)
• whipped,
  past participle,  past
• whipt,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• whipping
  present participle

1. to beat with a strap, lash, rod, or the like, especially by way of punishment or chastisement; flog; thrash.

   Criminals used to be whipped for minor offenses.

   Synonyms:

   chastise, scold, reprimand, switch, flagellate, scourge

2. to strike with quick, repeated strokes of something slender and flexible; lash.

   He impatiently whipped his leg with his riding crop.

3. to urge or force on with, or as with, a lash, rod, etc.

4. to lash or castigate with words.

5. to train or organize forcefully.

   to whip the team into shape.

6. Informal. to defeat or overcome.

   to whip the opposition;

   to whip a bad habit.

   Synonyms:

   conquer, beat

7. to hoist or haul by means of a lash or whip.

8. to move quickly and suddenly; pull, jerk, seize, or the like, with a sudden movement (often followed by out, in, into, etc.).

   He whipped his gun out of its holster.

9. to fish (a stream, lake, etc.) with rod and line, especially by making repeated casts.

   I whipped the stream all day and caught nothing.

10. to beat (eggs, cream, etc.) to a froth with an eggbeater, whisk, fork, or other implement in order to mix in air and cause expansion.

    Synonyms:

    whisk

11. to overlay or cover (cord, rope, etc.) with cord, thread, or the like wound about it.

    to whip the end of a hawser.

12. to wind (cord, twine, thread, etc.) about something.

    The tailor whipped the seams with heavy thread.

13. to sew with a light overcasting stitch.

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verb (used without object)

• whips,
  present (3rd person singular)
• whipped,
  past participle,  past
• whipt,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• whipping
  present participle

1. to move or go quickly and suddenly; dart; whisk.

   She whipped into the store for some milk.

2. to beat or lash about, as a pennant in the wind.

3. to fish with rod and line, especially by casting the line frequently.

noun

• whips
  plural

1. an instrument for striking, as in driving animals or in punishing, typically consisting of a lash or other flexible part with a more rigid handle.

   Synonyms:

   switch

2. a whipping or lashing stroke or motion.

3. a utensil for beating to a froth; whisk.

4. a dish made of cream or egg whites beaten to a froth, and usually blended with puréed fruit into a mousse-like consistency.

   pineapple whip.

5. Politics.

   1. a party manager in a legislative body who secures attendance for voting and directs other members.

   2. (in Britain) a written call made on members of a party to be in attendance for voting.

6. a windmill vane.

7. Hunting. a whipper-in.

8. a tackle consisting of a fall rove through a single standing block single whip so as to change the direction of hauling with no mechanical advantage, or consisting of a fall secured at one end and rove through a single running and a single standing block double whip so as to change the direction of hauling with a mechanical advantage of two, neglecting friction.

9. the wrapping around the end of a whipped cord or the like.

10. Also called whirl.  Machinery. eccentric rotation of a shaft having its center line slightly curved between supporting bearings.

11. a branchless shoot of a woody plant, especially one resulting from the first year's growth of a bud or graft.

12. Chiefly British: Older Use. a person who uses a whip as part of their work, such as a coachman or a driver of horses.

verb phrase

1. whip off to write hurriedly.

   He whipped off three new songs last night.

2. whip in to prevent from wandering, as hounds.

3. whip up

   1. to plan or assemble quickly.

      to whip up a delicious dinner.

   2. to incite; arouse; stir.

      to whip up the mob.

whip British  

/ wɪp /

verb

1. to strike (a person or thing) with several strokes of a strap, rod, etc

2. (tr) to punish by striking in this manner

3. (tr; foll by out, away, etc) to pull, remove, etc, with sudden rapid motion

   to whip out a gun

4. informal (intr; foll by down, into, out of, etc) to come, go, etc, in a rapid sudden manner

   they whipped into the bar for a drink

5. to strike or be struck as if by whipping

   the tempest whipped the surface of the sea

6. (tr) to criticize virulently

7. (tr) to bring, train, etc, forcefully into a desired condition (esp in the phrases whip into line and whip into shape )

8. informal (tr) to overcome or outdo

   I know when I've been whipped

9. (tr; often foll by on, out, or off) to drive, urge, compel, etc, by or as if by whipping

10. (tr) to wrap or wind (a cord, thread, etc) around (a rope, cable, etc) to prevent chafing or fraying

11. (tr) nautical to hoist by means of a rope through a single pulley

12. (tr) (in fly-fishing) to cast the fly repeatedly onto (the water) in a whipping motion

13. (tr) (in sewing) to join, finish, or gather with whipstitch

14. to beat (eggs, cream, etc) with a whisk or similar utensil to incorporate air and produce expansion

15. (tr) to spin (a top)

16. informal (tr) to steal

    he whipped her purse

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noun

1. a device consisting of a lash or flexible rod attached at one end to a stiff handle and used for driving animals, inflicting corporal punishment, etc

2. a whipping stroke or motion

3. a person adept at handling a whip, as a coachman, etc

4. 1. a member of a party chosen to organize and discipline the members of his faction, esp in voting and to assist in the arrangement of the business

   2. a call issued to members of a party, insisting with varying degrees of urgency upon their presence or loyal voting behaviour

   3. (in the British Parliament) a schedule of business sent to members of a party each week. Each item on it is underlined to indicate its importance: one line means that no division is expected, two lines means that the item is fairly important, and three lines means that the item is very important and every member must attend and vote according to the party line

5. an apparatus for hoisting, consisting of a rope, pulley, and snatch block

6. any of a variety of desserts made from egg whites or cream beaten stiff, sweetened, and flavoured with fruit, fruit juice, etc

7. See whipper-in

8. a windmill vane

9. transient elastic movement of a structure or part when subjected to sudden release of load or dynamic excitation

10. a percussion instrument consisting of two strips of wood, joined forming the shape of a V, and clapped loudly together

11. flexibility, as in the shaft of a golf club, etc

12. a ride in a funfair involving bumper cars that move with sudden jerks

13. a wrestling throw in which a wrestler seizes his opponent's arm and spins him to the floor

14. informal a fair chance or opportunity

whip Cultural  

1. In the United States Congress or state legislatures, an assistant to the majority leader or minority leader responsible for stirring up party support on issues, keeping track of party members' votes, and acting as a general liaison between the majority leader or minority leader and other party members.

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whip Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing whip

• crack the whip
• lick (whip) into shape
• smart as a whip
• upper (whip) hand

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-whipper
  noun
• whipper
  noun
• overwhip
  verb (used with object)
• prewhip
  verb (used with object)
• unwhipt
  adjective
• whiplike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• whips
  plural

Participles

• whipping
  present
• whipped
  past
• whipt
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• whip
  simple
• whips
  simple
• have whipped
  perfect
• have whipt
  perfect
• has whipped
  perfect
• has whipt
  perfect
• am whipping
  progressive
• are whipping
  progressive
• is whipping
  progressive
• have been whipping
  perfect progressive
• has been whipping
  perfect progressive

Past

• whipped
  simple
• whipt
  simple
• had whipped
  perfect
• had whipt
  perfect
• was whipping
  progressive
• were whipping
  progressive
• had been whipping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will whip
  simple
• will have whipped
  perfect
• will have whipt
  perfect
• will be whipping
  progressive
• will have been whipping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of whip

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English w(h)ippe (noun), w(h)ippen (verb); cognate with Dutch wippen “to swing, oscillate”; compare Low German wip(pe) “quick movement”

Explanation

A whip is a cord or piece of leather used for hitting an animal or a person, and to whip something or someone is to strike them with a whip. You can also figuratively whip an opponent or whip someone in shape. Giddy up! When you hit an animal with a whip, you whip it. Some animal rights activists object to horse racers using whips. You can also use this verb to mean "defeat by a lot," like when your basketball team whips the opposing team. A chef whips cream by whisking or mixing it until it's airy and frothy. If your teacher says he's going to "crack the whip," he means he's planning to use his authority to make the class work harder. And, fittingly, a political whip is someone who enforces discipline among party members.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

whip whips whipped whipt whipping

Trying to whip Usman into the leg side, Brook missed and was bowled.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

He once locked the Liberal Democrat chief whip in his office, in a bid to prevent him from being lobbied by rival campaigners.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Brisk of step and sharp of mind despite his years and the hot winds that whip the castle, he stood at the foundations of a temple dedicated to Haldi, the warrior god of gods.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Order a blue spirulina-coconut whip or try some street-food mashups, like Nashville Hot tacos and naan nachos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

All I hear is the thundering whip of the wind and the hammering of the dust as it falls back to the ground.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

In our study, leadership included the speaker, party leaders, whips, caucus or conference chairs, and committee chairs or ranking members.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

And when the wind whips, the air reeks of a potent campfire — but no campers are around.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

He joined the whips office after Sir Keir Starmer became Labour leader – following a brief stint on the health and social care select committee - and is seen as a Starmer loyalist.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

If all proceeds smoothly, as Orion whips around the Moon the astronauts could set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.

From Barron's ● Apr. 4, 2026

The noise never let up: car horns, bicycle bells and the cracking of whips combined to produce a deafening bewildering clamour, amid which is was impossible to heed every warning sound.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

Nygren played it back to Duran, who whipped it into the top corner.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Its menu includes gussied-up side dishes like honey-glazed carrots with whipped feta.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

But as afternoon winds whipped up, the 49-foot recreational cruise boat took on water as they made their way back to shore.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

Paramount Caviar’s kosher salmon roe adds a delicious salty, briny pop to deviled eggs, hash browns with whipped cream cheese and dill, or toast points with crème fraîche.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

Grinning in terror, he whipped his tail between his legs.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

He mounted her on a bonny bay horse, Himsel’ on the silver grey; He drew his bonnet out o’er his een, He whipt and rade away.

From Ballads of Mystery and Miracle and Fyttes of Mirth Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - Second Series by Frank Sidgwick

I thought I was asleep in the Park, and somebody stole all my corn, and my mother whipt me for it, but I could not help it.

From Hot corn: Life Scenes in New York Illustrated by Solon Robinson

Yes, Sir, I have seen fools, and fighters, chain'd together, And the Fighters had the upper hand, and whipt first, The poor Sots laughing at 'em.

From The Little French Lawyer A Comedy by Francis Beaumont

Dr. Faustus Doctor Faustus was a good man, He whipt his scholars now and then.

From Cole's Funny Picture Book No. 1 by E. W. (Edward William) Cole

Hugh was of course the favourite of the master, who whipt him with difficulty, and kept him from the rough sports of his fellow scholars, the future soldiers, and “reared him for Christ.”

From Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln A Short Story of One of the Makers of Mediaeval England by Charles L. (Charles Latimer) Marson

Tropical Storm Lala is already whipping and soaking Hawaii’s Big Island and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Summer can be especially windy, whipping up the waters around the Cyclades just as tourists flock to the popular islands of Mykonos, Naxos and Milos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

I considered whipping the miso into cold butter, making a compound butter to scrape over oven-hot sourdough before adding tomato slices and crystalline hunks of salt.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

Near the French surfing hotspot of Le Grand Crohot, an AFP reporter saw violent gusts of wind whipping up flames as firefighting aircraft attempted to extinguish a rekindled fire.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

Michael tries to play it cool, whipping off his name fast, but Aimee’s tongue curls around the corner of her mouth as she writes.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Related Words

• pull
• rush
• shoot
• snatch
• tear
• whirl
• whisk