use-icon

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

use-icon

THE USAGE PANEL

The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.

The Panelists

open-icon

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.

scroll-icon

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.

100-words-icon

See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!

Find out more!

open-icon

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com

whip (wĭp, hwĭp)
Share:
v. whippedalso whipt, whip·ping, whips
v. tr.
1. To strike with a strap or rod; lash: whipped the horse with the reins.
2. To afflict, castigate, or reprove severely: “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure” (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
3. To strike or affect in a manner similar to whipping or lashing: Icy winds whipped my face.
4. To arouse or excite, especially with words: whipped the audience into a rage.
5. To beat (cream or eggs, for example) into a froth or foam.
6. Informal To snatch, pull, or remove in a sudden manner: He whipped off his cap.
7. To sew with a loose overcast or overhand stitch.
8. To wrap or bind (a rope, for example) with twine to prevent unraveling or fraying.
9. Nautical To hoist by means of a rope passing through an overhead pulley.
10. Informal To defeat soundly: Our team can whip your team.
v. intr.
1. To move in a sudden, quick manner; dart: whipped out to the airport.
2. To move in a manner similar to a whip; thrash or snap about: Branches whipped against the windows.
n.
1. An instrument, either a flexible rod or a flexible thong or lash attached to a handle, used for driving animals or administering corporal punishment.
2. A whipping or lashing motion or stroke; a whiplash.
3. A blow, wound, or cut made by whipping.
4. Something, such as a long radio antenna on a motor vehicle, that is similar to a whip in form or flexibility.
5. Sports Flexibility, as in the shaft of a golf club: a fishing rod with a lot of whip.
6. Sports A whipper-in.
7.
a. A member of a legislative body, such as the US Congress or the British Parliament, charged by that member's party with enforcing party discipline and ensuring attendance.
b. A call issued to party members in a lawmaking body to ensure attendance at a particular time.
8. A dessert made of sugar and stiffly beaten egg whites or cream, often with fruit or fruit flavoring: prune whip.
9. An arm on a windmill.
10. Nautical A hoist consisting of a single rope passing through an overhead pulley.
11. A ride in an amusement park, consisting of small cars that move in a rapid, whipping motion along an oval track.
Phrasal Verbs:
whip in
To keep together, as members of a political party or hounds in a pack.
whip up
1. To arouse; excite: whipped up the mob; whip up enthusiasm.
2. Informal To prepare quickly: whip up a light lunch.
Idiom:
whip into shapeInformal
To bring to a specified state or condition, vigorously and often forcefully.

[Middle English wippen, whippen; see weip- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

whipper n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.