whips

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of whip.

   The collector displayed a dozen antique whips behind glass.

   Both party whips met privately before the vote.

   Note

   One regular plural serves every noun meaning of whip: the herder's lash, the blow it delivers, the hunt's whipper-in and the party officers who keep members voting in line. Context does the sorting, so antique whips sit in a display case while a party's whips meet before a vote. In UK politics, the weekly notice of upcoming votes usually takes the article: MPs receive the whip.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of whip.

   The chef whips the egg whites into a glossy meringue.

   A sudden gust whips the loose papers off the desk.

   Note

   Every meaning behind this present-tense form is transitive, so an object normally follows: she whips the cream, he whips the horse. The object tells you which meaning is in play. A cook aerates food, a rider strikes, and a party officer keeps a member voting with party policy. In slang, a team that whips its rivals simply beats them.

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