whip

CEFRB1

/ˈwɪp/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A long flexible stick or strip used for hitting animals.

  2. 02

    verb

    To beat or move something quickly with force.

Examples

  • I'm sure you'll whip us up something really good.

  • If you eat any cake, I'll whip you.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈʍɪp/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A blow administered with a whip.

  2. A lash; a pliant, flexible instrument, such as a rod (commonly of cane or rattan) or a plaited or braided rope or thong (commonly of leather) used to create a sharp "crack" sound for directing or herding animals.

  3. The same instrument used to strike a person or animal for corporal punishment or torture.

More examples

In context

  • I had to use the whip to get the sheep's attention.

  • Once he ran out of appeals, he knew he would soon feel the sting of the whip.

  • I was going to vote against the bill, but the party whip came to see me and made it clear I needed to vote for it.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The chef used a wire whisk to blank the cream into stiff peaks.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English whippen, wippen (“to flap violently”), from Middle Dutch wippen (“to swing, leap, dance, oscillate”) and Middle Low German wippen (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Germanic *wippōną (“to move back and forth”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to shake; to swing”). (See Swedish vippa and Danish vippe (“to shake”)). The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound of a whip; compare the same development in whisk and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh. The political senses are from whipper-in (“huntsman who keeps the hounds from wandering”), from 18th-century hunting terminology.