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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A spot of light on a radar or sonar screen indicating the position of a detected object, such as an aircraft or a submarine. Also called pip3.
  2. n. A high-pitched electronic sound; a bleep.
  3. n. A transient sharp upward or downward movement, as on a graph.
  4. n. A temporary or insignificant phenomenon, especially a brief departure from the normal: "The decline in the share of GNP going to health . . . appears to be a one-time blip in the historic trend rather than the start of a new trend” ( Atlantic).
  5. v. To bleep.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A small dot registered on electronic equipment, such as a radar or oscilloscope screen.
  2. n. A short sound of a single pitch, usually electronically generated.
  3. n. A brief aberration or deviation from what is expected or normal.
  4. v. To skip over or ignore (with out).
  5. v. To change state abruptly, such as between off and on or dark and light, sometimes implying motion.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. a spot of light on a radar screen, showing the position of a reflecting surface, such as an airplane or ship.
  2. n. 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; rate.
  3. n. something small or insignificant.
  4. n. a brief interruption in the continuity of a recorded or transmitted signal.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a radar echo displayed so as to show the position of a reflecting surface
  2. n. a sudden minor shock or meaningless interruption

Etymologies

  1. Imitative.

Examples

  • “The title blip was so fitting as it leaves for many interpretations, one of them being a spike - perhaps in reality!”

    Fictionaut: Blip

  • “This might be a short-term blip as we build up to a peak of demand around the Olympics itself but it could also be a worrying indicator of a lack of engagement in the Olympics from both business and consumers", Green said.”

    The Guardian: UK labour market shows drop in permanent and temporary jobs

  • “Thus, if the lawyers' movement can inspire a merchant in Sindh to empathize with the trials and tribulations of a Supreme Court justice, teach media outlets repressed for half a century to resist the will of a military-led government and make a bookstore in Lahore quickly sell out of copies of the Pakistani Constitution, then its impact on the country cannot merely be a short-term blip on the radar.”

    The Huffington Post: Ehsan Zaffar: Amid a Turbulent Year, a Rare Sign of Hope in Pakistan

  • “As I said, the obvious cause of that single-year blip is the combination of an economic downturn plus a huge spike in gas prices, which peaked at over $4/gallon in the summer of 2008. something has changed dramatically in American society.”

    Matthew Yglesias » Doing It Low-Tech

  • “The obvious cause of that single-year blip is the combination of an economic downturn plus a huge spike in gas prices, which peaked at over $4 in the summer of 2008.”

    Matthew Yglesias » Doing It Low-Tech

  • “We put them on negative outlook because we see the amount of debt they're currently raising as being more than just a short-term blip in terms of their leverage," said Peter Nerby , senior vice president on Moody's banking team.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Nasdaq May Face Slide Into 'Junk'

  • “What I wouldn't give for a September 10th mindset, back when it seemed like the Bush administration would be an annoying one-term blip in our country's history.”

    McCain Campaign Accuses Obama Of Having "A September 10th Mindset"

  • “Then again .. blip could REALLY stand to have a slick viddler flash interface … maybe the two should partner … of course maybe viddler sees blip as competition.”

    Thoughts on Mozilla | FactoryCity

  • “I certainly won't decry the efforts of the people concerned, but it was a short term blip rather than a long term solution.”

    The decline of Welsh Manufacturing

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Lists

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Comments

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  • bustedup Also used to mean a symbol for something in the dialect used by Ridley in Russel Hoban's 'Ridley Walker'. May 26, 2009

  • Prolagus As I have said, the sounds made by fin and blue whales are both the loudest and the lowest sounds yet attributed to any animal [...] In the case of fin whales, the songs are in the form of slow, measured sequences of sounds, which when they were first seen on the very slow moving paper recorders of the early sixties (the paper moved about an inch each hour) were called "blips" because they looked like brief spikes instead of the second-long moans that they are.
    It is hard to imagine a less apt term than "blip" for a twenty-hertz, deep-throated moan lasting a second. However, by being such an entirely inappropriate term it becomes memorable - rather like a dalmatian I once knew named Stripe.

    (Among whales, by Roger Payne) Jun 24, 2008

  • yarb An elephant? A gnu? A howler monkey? I must read this book. Jun 13, 2008

  • Prolagus Let's say it's about a mammal whose vocalization should NOT be called blip.
    I requested the book - google books cuts the quotation! Jun 13, 2008

  • yarb It sounds excellent - please give me the details. Mine is about a person - or is it a machine? - which emits that sound, and I'm enjoying it. Jun 13, 2008

  • Prolagus It's about a group of mammals that emits that sound. Jun 13, 2008

  • yarb What book is it? I was just reading a book today which made extensive use of this word. Jun 13, 2008

  • Prolagus I can't believe I have to request a book to the NYPL just to add a quotation about this word. Jun 13, 2008

‘blip’ has been looked up 1550 times, loved by 2 people, added to 24 lists, commented on 8 times, and has a Scrabble score of 8.