wimp

[wimp]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.

Origin of wimp

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

WIMP

[wimp]

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

Related Words for wimp

coward, crybaby, pushover, milksop, caitiff, loser, schlemiel, sissy, namby-pamby, baby, chicken, puppy, pantywaist, pansy, daisy, featherweight, wuss, jellyfish, fraidy-cat, scaredy-cat

Examples from the Web for wimp

Contemporary Examples of wimp

Was he so determined not to look like an angry black man that he ended up looking ... kind of like a wimp?
Why Obama Lost
David Frum
October 4, 2012
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
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
On the cover of Newsweek, my colleague Michael Tomasky calls Mitt Romney a wimp.
Answering Tomasky
David Frum
July 30, 2012
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

Historical Examples of wimp

Mr. Wimp has found no possible clue to such conduct in his papers.
The Big Bow Mystery
I. Zangwill
Grodman saw it and watched her, and fooled Wimp to the top of his bent.
The Big Bow Mystery
I. Zangwill
And yet, had not Mrs. Wimp let out as much at the Christmas dinner?
The Big Bow Mystery
I. Zangwill
Another of Wimp's grandmother-in-law's delusions was that Wimp had married to get her into the family.
The Big Bow Mystery
I. Zangwill
Wimp did what work he could do at home in a secluded study at the top of the house.
The Big Bow Mystery
I. Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for wimp

wimp

noun

informal a feeble ineffective personSee also wimp out

Derived Formswimpish or wimpy, adjective

Word Origin for wimp

C20: of unknown origin

WIMP

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

Word Origin and History for wimp

1920 (but not attested again until 1960), perhaps a clipped form of whimper (cf whimp, 1540s), perhaps influenced by J. Wellington Wimpy, comparatively unaggressive character in "Popeye" comics.

1986, with out (adv.), from wimp (n.). Related: Wimped; wimping.

wimp in Science

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.