Standard Lemma guide

blip

noun · verb · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /blɪp/
  • Received-Pronunciation: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪp
  • CMU ARPABET: B L IH1 P Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A small dot registered on electronic equipment, such as a radar or oscilloscope screen.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, electrical-engineering, electricity, electromagnetism, electronics, energy, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A short sound of a single pitch, usually electronically generated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A brief and usually minor aberration or deviation from what is expected or normal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

An individual message or document in the Google Wave software framework.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Internet, historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To make a short beep sound.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • The door blipped as I showed my electronic identity card and passed through.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To change state abruptly, such as between off and on or dark and light, sometimes implying motion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, intransitive

Examples

  • 1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure We got a call that Pat still on the respirator & that the doc said that now because the EEG was blipping, they couldn't unhook him from the respirator.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

Synonym of bleep (“to replace offending words in a broadcast recording with a tone”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bleep

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To apply the throttle briefly when downshifting, to provide a smoother gear transition and prevent wheelspin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: automotive, transport, vehicles

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

a radar echo displayed so as to show the position of a reflecting surface

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pip, radar target

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: radar echo

10

noun

Meaning 10

a sudden minor shock or meaningless interruption

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the market had one bad blip today
  • you can't react to the day-to-day blips
  • renewed jitters in the wake of a blip in retail sales

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: shock, blow

History

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: parpelleig — small dot registered on electronic equipment
  • Czech: bod na obrazovce — small dot registered on electronic equipment
  • Finnish: välke — small dot registered on electronic equipment
  • Portuguese: ponto — small dot registered on electronic equipment
  • Spanish: parpadeo — small dot registered on electronic equipment
  • Spanish: señal luminosa — small dot registered on electronic equipment
  • Swedish: blipp — small dot registered on electronic equipment
  • Czech: (krátké) pípnutí — short sound of a single pitch
  • Finnish: piippaus — short sound of a single pitch
  • Spanish: pitido — short sound of a single pitch
  • Swedish: blipp — short sound of a single pitch
  • Swedish: pip — short sound of a single pitch
  • Czech: výkyv — brief deviation
  • Czech: výchylka — brief deviation
  • Spanish: bache — brief deviation
  • Spanish: pitar — Translations