blip
/blɪp/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.97 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A small dot registered on electronic equipment, such as a radar or oscilloscope screen.
noun
An individual message or document in the Google Wave software framework.
verb
To change state abruptly, such as between off and on or dark and light, sometimes implying motion.
Informal; Intransitive verb
verb
Synonym of bleep (“to replace offending words in a broadcast recording with a tone”).
Transitive verb
verb
To apply the throttle briefly when downshifting, to provide a smoother gear transition and prevent wheelspin.
Example Sentences
- "When the blip began to move up the oscilloscope screen, they followed again."
- "At 6:45 pm, the chief officer saw a blip on the radar, approximately seven nautical miles away."
- "Due to the fact that she’d explored over 30% of the forest enemies were now displayed as blips on her map."
- "Blip..Blip..Blip..Blip / There was that annoying noise again. Anger entered my subconscious as the dream came to an abrupt end."
- "The most popular event is Joel's computer-based biofeedback game. […] The goal is to move the balloons skyward while avoiding the rockets that the computer shoots toward the balloons. You dodge the rockets by consciously adjusting your muscle tone between relaxation and tension. […] The little "blip" sound that happens when a balloon is shot down becomes a duet with the player. "Blip" "Damn!" "Blip" "Damn!" "Blip" "Damn!""
- "There's a chance this is just a viral blip, an intermittent spike of low-level virus that just happens in people on successful HIV treatment."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /blɪp/
- British English: /blɪp/