Word Study
blip
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Noun blip has 2 senses
- blip(n = noun.event) Array - a sudden minor shock or meaningless interruption; "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" is a kind of blow, shock
- blip(n = noun.communication) pip, radar target - a radar echo displayed so as to show the position of a reflecting surface; Array is a kind of radar echo
CIDE DICTIONARY
blip, n.
- a spot of light on a radar screen, showing the position of a reflecting surface, such as an airplane or ship."this sense is also used metaphorically to mean a barely perceptible object;
, Kennedy's candidacy was a mere This is the probably origin of sense 3." [WordNet 1.5]blip on Humphrey's radar screen until he won the West Virginia primary. - a short upward or downward deviation from a trend line on a graph, especially in a plot of some variable, such as an economic variable, against time; as, a brief blip upward in the unemployment rate. [PJC]
- something small or insignificant. [PJC]
- a brief interruption in the continuity of a recorded or transmitted signal; as, there is a blip on my CD of Beethoven's ninth. [PJC]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
blip, n. & v.
--n.
1 a quick popping sound, as of dripping water or an electronic device.
2 a small image of an object on a radar screen.
--v. (blipped, blipping)
1 intr. make a blip.
2 tr. strike briskly.
--n.
1 a quick popping sound, as of dripping water or an electronic device.
2 a small image of an object on a radar screen.
--v. (blipped, blipping)
1 intr. make a blip.
2 tr. strike briskly.
Etymology
imit.
For further exploring for "blip" in Webster Dictionary Online
