wimp

[ wimp ]

/ wɪmp /

Informal.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wimp ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a weak, ineffectual, timid person.

Verb Phrases

wimp out,

to be or act like a wimp.
to show timidity or cowardice; chicken out.

Nearby words

wiltshire horn, wily, wimble, wimbledon, wimmin, wimp, wimp out, wimple, wimpy, wimshurst machine, win

Origin of wimp

1915–20, Americanism; origin uncertain; cf. whimper

Definition for wimp (2 of 2)

WIMP

[ wimp ]

/ wɪmp /

noun

any of a group of weakly interacting elementary particles predicted by various unified field theories, as the W particle and Z-zero particle, that are characterized by relatively large masses.

Origin of WIMP

1985–90; W(eakly) I(nteracting) M(assive) P(article)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wimp

All of us here at NewsBeast knew the word “wimp” would carry a charge and get people to pay attention.
Michael Tomasky on Wimpy Mitt Romney’s Missing Backbone|Michael Tomasky|July 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Just by definition, you'd think, any American who plunges into what Teddy Roosevelt called "the arena," is no wimp.
Answering Tomasky|David Frum|July 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
On the cover of Newsweek, my colleague Michael Tomasky calls Mitt Romney a wimp.
Answering Tomasky|David Frum|July 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The chapter titles say a lot: “Even More of a Wimp than Jimmy Carter,” “Not a Great Listener.”
This Week’s Hot Reads: March 16, 2012|Jimmy So|March 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST

“I was in the Merchant Navy at 16, which is inexplicable to me to this day—I am a wimp, really,” he said.
‘Arthur Christmas’: The Making of the New Aardman Film|Lorenza Muñoz|November 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
This was Wimp's wife's mother's mother, a lady of sweet seventy.
The Big Bow Mystery|I. Zangwill
Only a minority of mankind can obtain a grandmother-in-law by marrying, but Wimp was not unduly conceited.
The Big Bow Mystery|I. Zangwill
Grodman saw it, and watched her, and fooled Wimp to the top of his bent.
The Grey Wig: Stories and Novelettes|Israel Zangwill
Wimp had hardly expected to find anybody at the house on Boxing Day, but he did not care to waste a day.
The Big Bow Mystery|I. Zangwill
Wimp's eye glittered with excitement and contempt for Grodman's blindness.
The Big Bow Mystery|I. Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for wimp (1 of 2)

wimp

/ (wɪmp) /

noun

informal a feeble ineffective personSee also wimp out

Derived Forms

wimpish or wimpy, adjective

Word Origin for wimp

C20: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for wimp (2 of 2)

WIMP

/ (wɪmp) /

acronym for

windows, icons, menus (or mice), pointers: denoting a type of user-friendly screen display used on small computersa WIMP system

physics weakly interacting massive particle

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

Science definitions for wimp

WIMP

[ wĭmp ]

Short for weakly interacting massive particle. Any of various hypothetical particles, some predicted by certain theories such as supersymmetry, which interact with other particles by the force of gravity alone. WIMPs are considered by some scientists to be candidates for the dark matter that makes up much of the mass of the universe.