whip Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an instrument with a handle and a flexible lash that is used for whipping
  2. noun a legislator appointed by the party to enforce discipline
    party whip.
  3. noun a dessert made of sugar and stiffly beaten egg whites or cream and usually flavored with fruit
  4. noun (golf) the flexibility of the shaft of a golf club
  5. noun a quick blow delivered with a whip or whiplike object
    lash; whiplash.
    • the whip raised a red welt
  6. verb beat severely with a whip or rod
    trounce; strap; welt; slash; lash; flog; lather.
    • The teacher often flogged the students
    • The children were severely trounced
  7. verb defeat thoroughly
    pip; rack up; worst; mop up.
    • He mopped up the floor with his opponents
  8. verb thrash about flexibly in the manner of a whiplash
    • The tall grass whipped in the wind
  9. verb strike as if by whipping
    lash.
    • The curtain whipped her face
  10. verb whip with or as if with a wire whisk
    whisk.
    • whisk the eggs
  11. verb subject to harsh criticism
    blister; scald.
    • The Senator blistered the administration in his speech on Friday
    • the professor scaled the students
    • your invectives scorched the community

WordNet

Whip transitive verb
Etymology
OE. whippen to overlay, as a cord, with other cords, probably akin to G. & D. wippen to shake, to move up and down, Sw. vippa, Dan. vippe to swing to and fro, to shake, to toss up, and L. vibrare to shake. Cf. Vibrate.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Whipped ; present participle & verbal noun Whipping
Definitions
  1. To strike with a lash, a cord, a rod, or anything slender and lithe; to lash; to beat; as, to whip a horse, or a carpet.
  2. To drive with lashes or strokes of a whip; to cause to rotate by lashing with a cord; as, to whip a top.
  3. To punish with a whip, scourge, or rod; to flog; to beat; as, to whip a vagrant; to whip one with thirty nine lashes; to whip a perverse boy.
    Who, for false quantities, was whipped at school. Dryden.
  4. To apply that which hurts keenly to; to lash, as with sarcasm, abuse, or the like; to apply cutting language to.
    They would whip me with their fine wits. Shak.
  5. To thrash; to beat out, as grain, by striking; as, to whip wheat.
  6. To beat (eggs, cream, or the like) into a froth, as with a whisk, fork, or the like.
  7. To conquer; to defeat, as in a contest or game; to beat; to surpass. Slang, U. S.
  8. To overlay (a cord, rope, or the like) with other cords going round and round it; to overcast, as the edge of a seam; to wrap; -- often with about, around, or over.
    Its string is firmly whipped about with small gut. Moxon.
  9. To sew lightly; specifically, to form (a fabric) into gathers by loosely overcasting the rolled edge and drawing up the thread; as, to whip a ruffle.
    In half-whipped muslin needles useless lie. Gay.
  10. To take or move by a sudden motion; to jerk; to snatch; -- with into, out, up, off, and the like.
    She, in a hurry, whips up her darling under her arm. L'Estrange.
    He whips out his pocketbook every moment, and writes descriptions of everything he sees. Walpole.
  11. (Naut.) (a) To hoist or purchase by means of a whip. (b) To secure the end of (a rope, or the like) from untwisting by overcasting it with small stuff.
  12. To fish (a body of water) with a rod and artificial fly, the motion being that employed in using a whip.
    Whipping their rough surface for a trout. Emerson.
Whip intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To move nimbly; to start or turn suddenly and do something; to whisk; as, he whipped around the corner.
    With speed from thence he whipped. Sackville.
    Two friends, traveling, met a bear upon the way; the one whips up a tree, and the other throws himself flat upon the ground. L'Estrange.
Whip noun
Etymology
OE. whippe. See Whip, v. t.
Definitions
  1. An instrument or driving horses or other animals, or for correction, consisting usually of a lash attached to a handle, or of a handle and lash so combined as to form a flexible rod. "[A] whip's lash." Chaucer.
    In his right hand he holds a whip, with which he is supposed to drive the horses of the sun. Addison.
  2. A coachman; a driver of a carriage; as, a good whip. Beaconsfield.
  3. (Mach.) (a) One of the arms or frames of a windmill, on which the sails are spread. (b) The length of the arm reckoned from the shaft.
  4. (Naut.) (a) A small tackle with a single rope, used to hoist light bodies. (b) The long pennant. See Pennant (a)
  5. A huntsman who whips in the hounds; whipper-in.
  6. (Eng. Politics) (a) A person (as a member of Parliament) appointed to enforce party discipline, and secure the attendance of the members of a Parliament party at any important session, especially when their votes are needed. (b) A call made upon members of a Parliament party to be in their places at a given time, as when a vote is to be taken.

Webster 1913