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Synonyms

wimp

1 American  
[wimp] / wɪmp /

noun

Informal.

  1. a weak, ineffectual, timid person.

verb phrase

  1. wimp out

    1. to be or act like a wimp.

    2. to show timidity or cowardice; chicken out.

WIMP 2 American  
[wimp] / wɪmp /

noun

  1. 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.

wimp 1 British  
/ wɪmp /

noun

  1. informal a feeble ineffective person See also wimp out

"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
WIMP 2 British  
/ wɪmp /

acronym

  1. windows, icons, menus ( or mice), pointers: denoting a type of user-friendly screen display used on small computers

    a WIMP system

  2. 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
WIMP Scientific  
/ wĭmp /

  1. 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.

Other Word Forms

  • wimpish adjective

Etymology

Origin of wimp1

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20; origin uncertain; whimper

Origin of WIMP2

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"So, either she's going to be a wimp, and do nothing, or she's going to be driven and ambitious. Character is what drives everything forward."

From BBC • Nov. 25, 2024

And I’m quite happy I didn’t escalate to a two star, as I am a spice wimp.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 3, 2024

"You'll go down as a wimp," Trump told Pence the morning of Jan.6, according to the book.

From Salon • Nov. 14, 2022

“When I started,” she said, “they wanted my things completely wimp feminine, and the gallery wanted to push that and I just wanted to throw up.”

From New York Times • Nov. 8, 2022

Nonetheless, I think she deserves an honorable mention for her intense, best-supporting cameo in the Luke Hunter: Death Prophet saga, although I came off as a bit of a wimp in that particular episode.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.