whip
Valid in Scrabble
- Scrabble points
- 12
- Words With Friends
- 12
- Letters
- 4
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Definition of whip
34 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included
noun
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A lash; a pliant, flexible instrument, such as a rod (commonly of cane or rattan) or a plaited or braided rope or thong (commonly of leather) used to create a sharp "crack" sound for directing or herding animals.
“I had to use the whip to get the sheep's attention.”
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noun
-
A lash; a pliant, flexible instrument, such as a rod (commonly of cane or rattan) or a plaited or braided rope or thong (commonly of leather) used to create a sharp "crack" sound for directing or herding animals.
“I had to use the whip to get the sheep's attention.”
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A lash; a pliant, flexible instrument, such as a rod (commonly of cane or rattan) or a plaited or braided rope or thong (commonly of leather) used to create a sharp "crack" sound for directing or herding animals.
“Once he ran out of appeals, he knew he would soon feel the sting of the whip.”
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A blow administered with a whip.
“I had hardly said the word, when Kit jumped into the saddle, and gave his horse a whip and a spur — and off it cantered, as if it were in as great a hurry to be married as Kit himself.”
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A whipper-in.
“At half-past ten, Tom Moody, Sir Huddlestone Fuddlestone's huntsman, was seen trotting up the avenue, followed by the noble pack of hounds in a compact body—the rear being brought up by the two whips clad in stained scarlet frocks—light hard-featured lads on well-bred lean horses, possessing marvellous dexterity in casting the points of their long heavy whips at the thinnest part of any dog's skin who dares to straggle from the main body […]”
“From the far side of the wood came the long shrill screech […] which signifies that one of the whips has viewed the fox quitting the covert.”
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A member of a political party who is in charge of enforcing the party's policies in votes.
“I was going to vote against the bill, but the party whip came to see me and made it clear I needed to vote for it.”
“The Conservative deputy chief whip has resigned after admitting he had “embarrassed myself and other people” following reports that he drunkenly groped two men at a private club. Chris Pincher wrote to Boris Johnson saying he was standing down after drinking too much. However, he did not address the allegations that he was reported to the whips by Conservative MPs who had witnessed his behaviour towards two men at the Carlton Club in Piccadilly.”
“Therefore, welcome new Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper, a man about whom even my esteemed political journalist friends know little - apart from the fact he was once Chief Whip, a job that requires knowing about every Tory MP's misdemeanours.”
- (UK, with-definite-article)A document distributed weekly to MPs by party whips informing them of upcoming votes in parliament.
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(UK, broadly)The regular status of an MP within a parliamentary party, which can be revoked by the party as a disciplinary measure.
“to withdraw the whip”
“As a result, he was stripped of the whip on Tuesday, preventing him from voting in the fourth ballot to narrow down candidates to be the next party leader.”
“In the letter, Hancock said he had spoken to the Conservatives’ chief whip, Simon Hart, last week, and been told the whip would be restored in time, “but that is now not necessary” – meaning he will sit as an independent until the next election.”
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Whipped cream.
“Did you want to add some whip to your coffee, ma'am?”
- A purchase in which one block is used to gain a 2:1 mechanical advantage.
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A mode of personal motorized transportation; an automobile, all makes and models including motorcycles, excluding public transportation.
“Come on, let's take my whip so we can get there in time.”
“Had four bills and I bought me a car / Little red whip that I bought for my marge”
“Big whip I'm underground parking”
- A move in which one player transfers momentum to another.
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A whipping motion; a thrashing about.
“I was startled by the whip of the rope when it finally snapped.”
- The quality of being whiplike or flexible; suppleness, as of the shaft of a golf club.
- Any of various pieces that operate with a quick vibratory motion
- Any of various pieces that operate with a quick vibratory motion
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(historical)A coach driver; a coachman.
“Lord Carington […] led the way with his chestnuts, having a distinguished brother whip, Lord Londesborough, by his side.”
- (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of)Acronym of walks plus hits per inning pitched; a statistic of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched.
verb
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(transitive)To hit with a whip.
“The rider whipped the horse.”
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(broadly, transitive)To hit with any flexible object.
“I whipped her with a newspaper.”
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(slang, transitive)To defeat, as in a contest or game.
“She whips me in the first game of pool, I do not even get a shot. Eight-balled from the break.”
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(transitive)To mix in a rapid aerating fashion, especially food.
“to whip eggs or cream”
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(transitive)To urge into action or obedience.
“He whipped the department into shape.”
- (transitive)To enforce a member voting in accordance with party policy.
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(transitive)To bind the end of a rope with twine or other small stuff to prevent its unlaying: fraying or unravelling.
“1677-1683, Joseph Moxon, Mechanick exercises Its string […] is firmly whipt about with small Gut”
- (transitive)To hoist or purchase by means of a whip.
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To sew lightly; specifically, to form (a fabric) into gathers by loosely overcasting the rolled edge and drawing up the thread.
“to whip a ruffle”
“In half-whipped muslin needles useless lie.”
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(transitive)To throw or kick an object at a high velocity.
“He whipped the ball at me.”
“Composed play then saw Sam Ricketts nutmeg Ashley Cole before Taylor whipped a fine curling effort over Petr Cech's bar.”
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(ambitransitive)To fish a body of water especially by making repeated casts.
“whipping its rough surface for a trout”
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(intransitive)To snap back and forth like a whip.
“The pennants whipped in the wind.”
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(intransitive)To move very fast.
“The wind whipped through the valley.”
“Two Friends, Travelling, met a Bear upon the way; the one Whips up a Tree, and the Other Throws himself Flat upon the Ground.”
“He looked up when I came in, gave a kind of cry, and whipped upstairs into the cabinet. It was but for one minute that I saw him, but the hair stood upon my head like quills.”
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(transitive)To move (something) very fast; often with up, out, etc.
“She,[…] in a hurry, whips up her Darling under her Arm.”
“He whips out his pocketbook every moment, and writes descriptions of everything he sees.”
- (transitive)To transfer momentum from one skater to another.
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(figuratively)To lash with sarcasm, abuse, etc.
“They would whip me with their fine wits.”
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To thrash; to beat out, as grain, by striking.
“to whip wheat”
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
From Middle English whippen, wippen (“to flap violently”), from Middle Dutch wippen (“to swing, leap, dance, oscillate”) and Middle Low German wippen (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Germanic *wipjaną (“to move…
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From Middle English whippen, wippen (“to flap violently”), from Middle Dutch wippen (“to swing, leap, dance, oscillate”) and Middle Low German wippen (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Germanic *wipjaną (“to move back and forth”). Some similarity to Sanskrit root वेप् (vep, “shake, flourish”), Latin vibrō (“to shake”). (See Swedish vippa and Danish vippe (“to shake”)). The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound of a whip; compare the same development in whisk and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh. The political senses are from whipper-in (“huntsman who keeps the hounds from wandering”), 18th century hunting terminology.
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