# lip

Pronunciation: say "LIP" /lɪp/

## Noun

1. Either of the two fleshy folds that surround the opening of the mouth.
   - Simple: One of the two soft, fleshy edges around the opening of your mouth.
   - _A cold sore formed on her upper lip overnight._
   - _The baby's lips parted into a wide, gummy smile._
2. The projecting edge or rim of something hollow or raised, such as a jug, cup, crater, or cliff; also, a short spout for pouring.
   - Simple: The edge or rim of something, like a jug, a cup, or a cliff.
   - _Cream ran over the lip of the pitcher and onto the table._
   - _A casting flaw left a rough lip on the bronze bell._
4. A fleshy edge or fold on the body that resembles the lip of the mouth, such as the margin of a wound or the labia.
   - Simple: A soft edge on the body shaped like a lip, such as the edge of a wound.
   - _The surgeon drew the lips of the incision together with fine sutures._
   - _Each lip of the wound had to be cleaned before stitching._
5. Short for lipstick: colored cosmetic for the lips, or a particular shade or look of it. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of lipstick.
   - Simple: Short for lipstick: colored makeup that you put on your lips.
   - _A bold lip can pull a whole look together._
   - _She finished the look with a swipe of nude lip._
8. Cheeky or impertinent talk, especially when answering back to someone in authority. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Rude talk back to someone, especially a person in charge.
   - _She got plenty of lip from the teenagers at the back of the bus._
   - _One more word of lip and you'll be sent to the principal._
6. Either edge bordering the aperture of a single-shelled mollusk's shell.
   - Simple: One of the edges around the opening of a snail or other one-shelled animal's shell.
   - _In adult cowries, the lip curls inward and bears a row of fine teeth._
   - _Collectors prize shells whose outer lip remains unchipped._
7. A lip-shaped part of a flower, such as the distinctive lower petal of an orchid or either part of a two-lipped corolla.
   - Simple: A petal or part of a flower shaped like a lip, as in orchids or mint.
   - _The orchid's lip flared into a frilled, brightly marked landing platform for pollinators._
   - _Botanists identify many orchids by the shape and color of the lip._

## Verb

3. To form words with the lips while making no sound; to mouth.
   - Simple: To move your lips like you are speaking, but make no sound.
   - _Across the crowded room, my sister lipped "let's go" and nodded toward the door._
   - _Not wanting to wake the baby, she paused to lip 'goodnight' from the doorway, then eased the door shut._
9. To touch, grasp, or kiss something with the lips.
   - Simple: To touch, grasp, or kiss something using your lips.
   - _The horse lipped the sugar cube from her open palm._
   - _Horses will lip at your coat pockets, hoping to find a carrot._
10. To play a golf ball so it strikes the rim of the cup without falling in.
   - Simple: To hit a golf ball so it touches the edge of the hole but does not fall in.
   - _His birdie attempt lipped the cup and spun out at the last second._
   - _On fast greens, a putt can lip the cup and spin away at the last second._
11. Of water or something not alive, to touch or lap gently against a surface.
   - Simple: To touch something lightly, like small waves on a beach.
   - _Gentle waves lip the pebbled beach at low tide._
   - _The sea lipped quietly against the hull until dawn._
12. To swell or flow upward until reaching or spilling past an edge.
   - Simple: To rise up and spill over the edge of something.
   - _During the storm, the lake began to lip over its banks._
   - _The tide lipped over the harbor wall just after midnight._
13. To make up the outer rim, edge, or border of something.
   - Simple: To form the edge or rim around something.
   - _Jagged rocks lip the crater where lava once pooled._
   - _White sand lipped the lagoon for miles._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The condition or strength of a wind player's lips, which controls tone and endurance; embouchure.
- (verb) To alter the pitch of a note on a wind instrument by moving or tensing the lips.
- (verb) To utter or speak something aloud.
- (noun) The keen cutting edge at the tip of an auger or similar boring tool.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English "lippe," from Old English "lippa," tracing back through Proto-Germanic, possibly to a Proto-Indo-European root *leb- meaning "to hang loosely, droop, sag." It is related to Dutch "lip," German "Lippe," Swedish "läpp," and Latin "labium."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lip (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).