blip

[blip] /blɪp/
noun
1.
Also called pip. Electronics.
  1. a spot of light on a radar screen indicating the position of a plane, submarine, or other object.
  2. (loosely) any small spot of light on a display screen.
2.
a brief upturn, as in revenue or income:
The midwinter blip was no cause for optimism among store owners.
3.
anything small, as in amount or number:
a blip of light; Those opposed were merely a blip in the opinion polls.
4.
bleep (def 3).
5.
Slang. a nickel; five cents.
6.
Movies. a mark of synchronization on a sound track.
7.
a small or brief interruption, as in the continuity of a motion-picture film or the supply of light or electricity:
There were blips in the TV film where the commercials had been edited out.
verb (used without object), blipped, blipping.
8.
Informal. to move or proceed in short, irregular, jerking movements:
The stock market has blipped one point higher this week.
verb (used with object), blipped, blipping.
9.
bleep (def 5).
Origin
1890-95, for an earlier sense; sound symbolism, with p for brevity and abrupt end of the impulse; bl- perhaps from blink
Examples from the web for blip
  • At this point it's impossible to say whether this working paper will be anything other than a blip in the scholarly literature.
  • Sometimes, the weird blip would disappear, in which case the problem was solved.
  • More remarkable, though, is that this unprecedented change is not a blip but a beginning.
  • New official forecasts make clear that the spring slowdown was no blip.
  • There are two long-term causes and a temporary blip that will continue to show up in the figures for the next few decades.
  • It is too soon to say whether this is a temporary blip or something worse.
  • Less optimistic observers suggest that what some now dismiss as a blip is the start of a serious slump.
  • And this was a rare positive blip in an anti-euro trend.
  • The two letters were a blip on the intelligentsia's cardiogram, which had been showing few signs of life.
  • The usual caveats apply: it could be a blip, it might be an artifact of seasonal adjustment, etc.
British Dictionary definitions for blip

blip

/blɪp/
noun
1.
a repetitive sound, such as that produced by an electronic device, by dripping water, etc
2.
Also called pip. the spot of light or a sharply peaked pulse on a radar screen indicating the position of an object
3.
a temporary irregularity recorded in performance of something
verb blips, blipping, blipped
4.
(intransitive) to produce such a noise
Word Origin
C20: of imitative origin
Word Origin and History for blip
n.

1894, in reference to a kind of popping sound, of echoic origin. Radar screen sense is from 1945. As a verb from 1924. Related: Blipped; blipping.

Slang definitions & phrases for blip

blip

adjective
  1. Excellent; very good (1930s+ Jive talk)
  2. hip (1950s+ Cool talk)
noun
  1. A luminous signal on a radar screen: Birds can cause blips on radar screens (1940s+)
  2. A rapid increase and decrease; quick peaking: The bond bulls argue that commodities' rally is a blip/ despite temporary blips up and down (1980s+)
verb
  1. To encroach upon, as one aircraft's image on a radar screen might enter the territory of another aircraft: Cartridge-makers blip into Atari's airspace, attracted by the enormous profit potential (1980s+)
  2. To censor a taped word or passage by erasing it electronically from the tape and substituting a ''bleep'': Occasionally Mr Carson's lines are ''blipped'' (1960s+)

[most senses fr earlier blip, ''a sharp blow or twitch'']