transitive verb whipped or whipt, whipping
- to move, pull, jerk, snatch, throw, etc. suddenly: usually with out, off, up, etc.: to whip out a knife
- to strike, as with a strap or rod; lash; beat
- to punish in this manner
- to force, drive, compel, or urge by or as by whipping
- to strike as a whip does: the rain whipped her face
- to attack with stinging words; flay
- to wind (cord or thread) around (a rope, etc.) so as to prevent fraying
- to fish (a stream, etc.) by making repeated casts with a rod and line
- to beat (egg whites, cream, etc.) with a fork, whisk, mixer, etc. so as to incorporate air and make frothy
- to sew (a seam or hem) with a loose, overcasting or overhand stitch
- Informal to defeat or outdo, as in a contest
- Naut. to hoist by means of a rope passing through an overhead pulley
Origin:
ME whippen < MDu wippen, to swing, move up and down < IE *weib-, to turn, swing: see vibrate
noun
- an instrument for striking or flogging, consisting generally of a stiff or flexible rod with a lash attached to one end
- a blow, cut, etc. made with or as with a whip
- a person who uses a whip, as a coachman or a huntsman who whips on the hounds
- an officer of a political party, as in Congress or Parliament, who maintains discipline and enforces attendance
- Brit. a call issued to party members in a lawmaking body to be in attendance to vote on a certain issue: a three-line whip
- a whipping motion
- a dessert made of sugar and whipped cream, stiffly beaten egg whites, or gelatin, and often fruit
- something resembling a whip in its action, as a windmill vane, kind of eggbeater, etc.
- a hoisting apparatus consisting of a single rope passing through an overhead pulley
- a flexible vertical rod for use as a radio antenna
Origin:
ME whippe < MDu wippe