Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Whip?

\Whip\, n. 1. A whipping motion; a thrashing about; as, the whip of a tense rope or wire which has suddenly parted; also, the quality of being whiplike or flexible; flexibility; suppleness, as of the shaft of a golf club. 2. (Mech.) Any of various pieces that operate with a quick vibratory motion, as a spring in certain electrical devices for making a circuit, or a rocking certain piano actions.
\Whip\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Whipped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Whipping}.] [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}.] 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. {To whip in}, to drive in, or keep from scattering, as hounds in a hurt; hence, to collect, or to keep together, as member of a party, or the like. {To whip the cat}. (a) To practice extreme parsimony. [Prov. Eng.] --Forby. (b) To go from house to house working by the day, as itinerant tailors and carpenters do. [Prov. & U. S.]
\Whip\, v. i. 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\, n. [OE. whippe. See {Whip}, v. t.] 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. {Whip and spur}, with the utmost haste. {Whip crane}, or {Whip purchase}, a simple form of crane having a small drum from which the load is suspended, turned by pulling on a rope wound around larger drum on the same axle. {Whip gin}. See {Gin block}, under 5th {Gin}. {Whip grafting}. See under {Grafting}. {Whip hand}, the hand with which the whip is used; hence, advantage; mastery; as, to have or get the whip hand of a person. --Dryden. {Whip ray} (Zo["o]l.), the European eagle ray. See under {Ray}. {Whip roll} (Weaving), a roll or bar, behind the reeds in a loom, on which the warp threads rest. {Whip scorpion} (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of arachnids belonging to {Thelyphonus} and allied genera. They somewhat resemble true scorpions, but have a long, slender bristle, or lashlike organ, at the end of the body, instead of a sting. {Whip snake} (Zo["o]l.), any one of various species of slender snakes. Specifically: (a) A bright green South American tree snake ({Philodryas viridissimus}) having a long and slender body. It is not venomous. Called also {emerald whip snake}. (b) The coachwhip snake.