flip

Noun (1)

flip (countable and uncountable, plural flips)

1. A maneuver which rotates an object end over end.
   • We'll decide this on a flip of a coin.
   • The diver did a couple of flips before landing in the pool.
2. A complete change of direction, decision, movement etc.

   Synonyms:

   inversion, swap

3. (archaic) A fillip or light blow.
   • […] who looked at Dean a moment, crossed over the stage to him, raised himself on his toes, dashed his own hat firmly down to his ears, and every one on the stage supposed Dean was about to receive a flip on the ear or nose.1851, Falconbridge, Dan. Marble: A Biographical Sketch, page 98

   Synonyms:

   flick

4. (dated) A whit or jot; the tiniest amount.
   • I don't care a flip for what he says.

   Synonyms:

   bit, ace, atom, thought, atomy, aught, bissel, continental, crumb, glimpse

5. A short flight.
   • "While that was going on, we were getting organized. There were some fifty or sixty of us to begin with. I took flips in the helicopter, and when I saw signs of a group anywhere, I'd go down and issue a general invitation to come along."1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 256
6. (US, slang) A slingshot.
   • He loaded his flip and took careful aim at what he considered to be Emily's most vulnerable spot […]1986, George Scarbrough, A summer ago, page 123
7. A hairstyle popular among boys in the 1960s–70s and 2000s–10s, in which the hair goes halfway down the ears, at which point it sticks out
   • Justin Bieber and Zac Efron are among the celebrities who wore a flip.
8. (informal) The purchase of an asset (usually a house) which is then improved and sold quickly for profit.
   • What they bring to the table is hard-won brass-tacks knowledge from over fifteen years of personal investing as well as riding shotgun on over 1,000 flips with their clients.2007, Rick Villani, Clay Davis, Gary Keller, Flip: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit, page viii
9. (uncountable) The tendency of a gun's barrel to jerk about at the moment of firing.
   • In the case of rifles flip is counteracted by the sighting of the weapons, and it is because of flip that the sights cannot be set so that the line of sight is exactly parallel to the axis of the bore.1961, Sir Gerald Burrard, The gun. The cartridge, page 224
   • A small, lightweight round, such as a .22 LR, generates very manageable recoil and muzzle flip (how much the nose of the gun flips up when you fire it).2015, Tara Dixon Engel, The Handgun Guide for Women, page 33

Verb

flip (third-person singular simple present flips, present participle flipping, simple past and past participle flipped)

1. (transitive) To throw so as to turn over.
   • You need to flip the pancake onto the other side.
   • However, the hosts hit back and hit back hard, first replacement hooker Andrew Hore sliding over, then Williams careering out of his own half and leaving several defenders for dead before flipping the ball to Nonu to finish off a scintillating move.2011 September 16, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: New Zealand 83-7 Japan”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 16 Oct 2025

   Synonyms:

   flip over, turn, turn over, turn upside down

2. (transitive) To put into a quick revolving motion through a snap of the thumb and index finger.
   • If you can't decide which option to go for, flip a coin.
   • Parkour – often referred to as freerunning – entails creatively moving through an urban environment: flipping, jumping and vaulting across various obstacles.2022 June 16, Issy Ronald, “Meet the parkour athletes defying fear and gravity at Red Bull Art of Motion”, in CNN, archived from the original on 26 Jun 2022

   Synonyms:

   toss

3. (US, transitive) To win a state (or county) won by another party in the preceding elections.
   • Wisconsin had been Democratic for decades, but the Republicans flipped it in 2016.
4. (US, intransitive) To turn state's evidence; to agree to testify against one's co-conspirators in exchange for concessions from prosecutors.
   • The mafioso flipped on his superiors to get a lighter sentence.
5. (US, transitive) To induce someone to turn state's evidence; to get someone to agree to testify against their co-conspirators in exchange for concessions.
   • The district attorney was able to strengthen his case against the bank robber by flipping the getaway driver.
6. (intransitive, slang) To go berserk or crazy; to get extremely angry.
   • I'd flip if anyone broke my phone.
   • They're talkin' bout the night Santa went crazy
     The night St. Nicholas flipped
     Broke his back for some milk and cookies
     Sounds to me like he was tired of gettin' gypped1996, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “The Night Santa Went Crazy”, in Bad Hair Day
7. (intransitive, slang) To go berserk or crazy; to be extremely thrilled or enthusiastic.
   • Heading home from a party, two hipsters, completely stoned, pause to snuggle on a park bench. A fire engine roars by, bells clanging, sirens screaming. The boy flips. “Solid, doll,” he murmurs, “they’re playing our song!”1952 September 29, “"BOP VOCABULARY" section, inside of "That Crazy Bop Joke Craze"”, in LIFE Magazine, New York, U.S., page 69
   • I got a silver ring with a "B" on it for Beatles. I really flip for those excellent guys.1964, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure
8. (slang, transitive) To purchase and resell assets (often real estate or artworks) for immediate short-term profit.
   • Those companies have been flipping houses in the real estate market for years.
   • After the formal part of dealer interviews, often later over a glass of wine, tales would be told of how the dealer does cope with pricing decisions, how other dealers are thought to set prices, and the pricing problems that result when evil collectors flip new paintings at auction.2010, Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark, Aurum Press Limited, →ISBN
9. (slang, transitive) To refinance (a loan), accruing additional fees.
   • The bill makes it illegal to encourage borrowers to repeatedly refinance, or "flip," a loan primarily to collect more fees.2002, BNA's Banking Report, volume 78, page 747
   • Some of our consumer protection offices are all too familiar with the abusive practice of "flipping" loans.2002, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Predatory Mortgage Lending, page 70
10. (transitive) To invert a bit (binary digit), changing it from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0.
11. (informal, transitive) To hand over or pass along.
    • "Flip me the details, and I'll have a sneaky beaky round for you."2014, Martyn Kinsella-Jones, A Falling of Angels
12. (informal, intransitive) To switch to another task, etc.
    • I flipped from the calendar app to the email app and logged in to view Cooper's. The unreads were staggering; I'd have to triage them later.2022, Michelle McCraw, Boss Me
13. (transitive) To put on a (facial expression).
    • I knew he was kidding because he flipped a grin at me.
14. (intransitive) To flap.
    • Rising above it all, an American flag flipped in the breeze.2016, Dan Eberhart, A Pact with the Living

Interjection

1. (UK, colloquial, euphemistic) Used to express annoyance, especially when the speaker has made an error.
   • What the flip just happened?
   • Impossible. He's dining out and coming on here after. He can't be reached. / Oh, flip!1967, Peter Shaffer, Black comedy, including White lies: two plays

   Synonyms:

   damn

Adjective

flip (comparative flipper, superlative flippest)

1. (UK, informal) Having the quality of playfulness, or lacking seriousness of purpose.
   • I hate to be flip, but perhaps we could steal a Christmas tree.
2. Sarcastic.
3. (informal) Disrespectful, flippant.
   • Don't get flip with me or I'll knock you into next Tuesday!

   Synonyms:

   cheeky

Noun (2)

flip (uncountable)

1. A mixture of beer, spirit, etc., stirred and heated by a hot iron (a “flip dog”).
   • [H]e had provided vast quantities of strong beer, flip, rumbo, and burnt brandy, with plenty of Barbadoes water for the ladies […].1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC
   • I frequently took of large potations, though not of champagne certainly, but port, strong ales, and punch, and when our funds were low as sometimes happened, hot flip […] .1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 21

   Synonyms:

   flannel

Noun (3) capitalized: Flip

Flip (plural Flips)

1. (derogatory, ethnic, slang, slur) A Filipino; a person who is of Filipino background.
   • One of the children beckoned to me to try it and I started forward, but before I could move Ryland grabbed my coat. "They're fucking Flips, kid. The only way to play is to be better than they are. Go all the way to the top."1993, Gary Paulsen, Eastern sun, winter moon: an autobiographical odyssey, →ISBN
   • Later, the lieutenant came up to me. “Those dumb Flips finally got the message, right? […]2002, Henry C Allan, H-Hour Plus Three: The Saga of the US Army Amphibious Engineers in the Pacific During World War II, →ISBN, page 188

Proper noun capitalized: Flip

Flip

1. A nickname for Philippa.

Noun (4) capitalized: FLIP

FLIP (plural FLIPs)

1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of flexible loan insurance plan.