What does pip mean?
A pip is, most familiarly, one of the small hard seeds inside a fruit such as an apple or pear. In that sense, it is a concrete, countable word often used when discussing fruit preparation, natural variation between pieces of produce, or the presence of seeds in a product. The word has several smaller meanings as well: a tiny dot or spot, a small projectile, a short high-pitched sound, or one element in a sequence of electronic signals. In informal American English, giving someone “a pip” can also mean offering encouragement or approval. These secondary meanings are metaphorical extensions of the word’s central idea of something small and distinct. As a result, “pip” is useful not only for naming fruit seeds but also for describing tiny marks, brief signals, and small tokens of encouragement.
A small, hard seed, especially one inside a fruit; also, by extension, a small dot, mark, projectile, sound, or signal.
"The teacher planted the apple pips in the soil."
The fruit-seed sense is the most common. Other senses are context-dependent, and the encouragement sense is informal and especially associated with American English.
To make or emit a short, high-pitched sound.
"A small bird pipped from the branches."
This verb is relatively uncommon and literary or descriptive in tone.
The plural is standard when referring to several fruit seeds, small marks, projectiles, or individual signals.
"She picked out the pips before serving the apple slices."
The word pip can name the tiny seed of an apple, a small dot of light, or even a brief electronic signal: one word, many tiny meanings.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pip come from?
The word is recorded in Middle English in the sense of a small seed or similar small object. Its deeper origin is uncertain, so it is safest not to assign it to a particular ancient language or regular inherited root. Modern specialized senses developed through associations with small marks, signals, sounds, and projectiles.
How pip is actually used
The seed sense is ordinary and familiar. The electronic-signal and encouragement senses are more specialized or informal, with the latter especially associated with American English.