/ wɪp; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] a long thin piece of rope or leather, attached to a handle, used for making animals move or punishing people :
He cracked his whip and the horse leapt forward.
2.
[ C ] an official in a political party who is responsible for making sure that party members attend and vote in important government debates :
the chief whip
3.
[ C ] a written instruction telling members of a political party how to vote on a particular issue
—see also three-line whip
4.
[ U , C ] a sweet dish made from cream, eggs, sugar and fruit mixed together
•
IDIOMS
- have / hold, etc. the whip hand (over sb/sth)
—more at crack verb , fair adjective
■ verb ( -pp- )
1.
[ vn ] to hit a person or an animal hard with a whip , as a punishment or to make them go faster or work harder
2.
to move, or make sth move, quickly and suddenly or violently in a particular direction :
[ v + adv. / prep. ]
A branch whipped across the car window.
Her hair whipped around her face in the wind.
[ vn ]
The waves were being whipped by 50 mile an hour winds.
3.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to remove or pull sth quickly and suddenly :
She whipped the mask off her face.
The man whipped out a knife.
4.
[ vn ] whip sth (up) to stir cream, etc. very quickly until it becomes stiff :
Serve the pie with whipped cream .
Whip the egg whites up into stiff peaks.
5.
[ vn ] ( BrE , informal ) to steal sth
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- whip through sth
- whip sb/sth up
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : probably from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch wippen swing, leap, dance, from a Germanic base meaning move quickly . The noun is partly from the verb, reinforced by Middle Low German wippe quick movement.