quip
Americannoun
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quips
plural
verb (used without object)
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quips,
present (3rd person singular)
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quipped,
past participle, past
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quipping
present participle
noun
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a sarcastic or cutting remark; gibe
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a witty or clever saying
a merry quip
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archaic another word for quibble
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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quipsimple
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quipssimple
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have quippedperfect
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has quippedperfect
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am quippingprogressive
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are quippingprogressive
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is quippingprogressive
-
have been quippingperfect progressive
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has been quippingperfect progressive
Past
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quippedsimple
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had quippedperfect
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was quippingprogressive
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were quippingprogressive
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had been quippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quip
1525–35; back formation from quippy quip < Latin quippe indeed
Explanation
A quip — a short, witty comment — can be pleasant, wise, or sarcastic, but usually carries an element of humor. A quip is a witty or clever remark that sounds spur-of-the-moment. A successful quip must sound offhand, as though it were an afterthought, even if the speaker has been honing the statement for days. Dorothy Parker was a famous writer known for her quick quips, such as, "The best way to keep children home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant — and let the air out of the tires."
Vocabulary lists containing quip
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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.
See Examples For:
However, when Minton Beddoes noted his almost 250 million followers on X at one point during the interview, Musk was quick to quip: "Popular guy".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
If the Wayans were able to slip in a joke about Taylor, why didn’t they cut a separate quip about horror never winning Oscars, when Amy Madigan won for “Weapons” the same night?
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
When America was awarded hosting rights for the 1994 tournament, it was met with a quip and a sneer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
The movie works backward from a famous 1961 Eisenhower quip to JFK that attributed his success in Normandy, France, to the Allies having “better meteorologists than the Germans.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Later generations of Romans would quip that what the Barbarians had failed to destroy, the Barberinis stole.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
In between trading impromptu quips, Martin and Lewis overturned tables, cut ties, sheared suits and spritzed seltzer on one and all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
RuPaul enters the fold and steals the show, and suddenly, none of the quips and bits can quite measure up to his delivery.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
That institution comes in for specific criticism from Savouri who quips that the IMF acronym would be more accurate were it to represent the Invariably Mistaken Forecaster providing Grossly Distorted Projections.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026
Ms. Gionfriddo writes tartly funny dialogue that stings and surprises, with tangy quips and savage retorts whizzing through the air, giving a buoyancy even to scenes that occasionally stretch past their necessary length.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
“Yeah, you always are, Mr. Berrycloth. But a good gent would say ‘ladies first,’ wouldn’t he?” quips Colin.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
"Bin day cometh," quipped Binface, the self-styled "intergalactic space warrior" from the fictional planet Sigma IX.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Graham quipped in his final days that he couldn’t die now because he was close to achieving both goals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Another quipped, “Thanks for the update! Can’t you just hear her saying, ‘Let me go! don’t you know I’ve got two kids to take care of?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
"It's difficult - there are a lot of Ukrianian drones there," Zelensky quipped, alluding to Ukraine's long-range drone strikes on Moscow.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
"To his face we call him Lord Eunuch," quipped Lit- tlefinger.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
"Amazon is primed to buy Liverpool Football Club" is the Daily Star's lead story, quipping "you'll never deliver alone!" – a cheeky reference to the club's terrace anthem.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Albanese took to the stage at that event to declare "Modi is the Boss", quipping that his crowd-pulling power eclipsed even that of US rock icon Bruce Springsteen.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Minus the flash, the neon, the tailoring and the quipping, “LifeHack” is a kind of “Ocean’s Eleven” for Gen Z: a breathless, ingenious caper that moves at about 200 megabits per second.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
This achievement is all the more remarkable considering that, in the next theater over, Fanning was punching, kicking and quipping in “Predator: Badlands.”
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
It was the meeting-place of the little "quoting, quipping, quaffing" club of fellow-workers in Bohemia; and Lemon, it was explained, had dabbled both in verse and the lighter drama, efforts which were "not half bad."
From The History of "Punch" by M. H. (Marion Harry) Spielmann
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.
