lip
//lɪp//
Forms
- Plural
- lips
- present (v1)
- lip
- past (v2)
- lipped
- past participle (v3)
- lipped
- present participle
- lipping
- 3rd person singular
- lips
Definitions
1.Either of the two fleshy protrusions around the opening of the mouth.
2.The projecting rim of an open container or a bell, etc.; a short open spout.
- The cork sails over the garden wall and lands somewhere no one can see it. A crest of white spills over the lip of the bottle and Niall pours the wine into Elaine's glass.
3.Backtalk; verbal impertinence.(slang)
- Kevin Sutherland: I've had enough of your lip!
- Loose Tomato grew up tough. No one ever suspected that he was scared every time he walked down the street. Any lip and they got their ass kicked.
- Don’t give me any lip!
4.A part of the body that resembles a lip, such as the edge of a wound or the labia.
1.To touch lightly.
- He moved the boat onward very slowly, lipping the glossy surface delicately with the light oars.
2.To wash against a surface, lap.
- The mist that lipped against the wall behind him hung overhead like a ceiling, hiding any stars.
- It was very soothing and restful up there on the saloon deck, with no sound but the gentle lipping of the water as it rippled against the sides of the steamer.
3.To rise or flow up to or over the edge of something.
- Below, the swollen Eden, lipping full from bank to bank, rolled yellow and surly to the sea.
- The rest of the herd were grouped so close to the water’s edge that from time to time a lazy, leaden-green swell would come lipping up and splash them.
- The sun lipped over the mountain by now, shone on the corrugated-iron roofs of the five sanitary units, shone on the gray tents and on the swept ground of the streets between the tents.
4.To touch or grasp with the lips; to kiss; to lap the lips against (something).
Frequency
Overall
Common· #1861
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Common
Related words
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English lippe, from Old English lippa, lippe (“lip”), from Proto-West Germanic *lippjō (“lip”), from Proto-Germanic *lepô, from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang loosely, droop, sag”).