Whip — Defs

01 v. t. 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.

imp. & p. p. Whipped; p. pr. & vb. n. Whipping

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.
To hoist or purchase by means of a whip.(Naut.)
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.

Phrases & compounds

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 — To practice extreme parsimony.

02 v. i. To move nimbly; to start or turn suddenly and do something; to whisk; as, he whipped around the corner.

1.
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.

03 n. 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 …

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.
“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.
3.
One of the arms or frames of a windmill, on which the sails are spread.(Mach.)
4.
A small tackle with a single rope, used to hoist light bodies.(Naut.)
5.
A huntsman who whips in the hounds; whipper-in.
6.
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.(Eng. Politics)
7.
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.
8.
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.(Mech.)

Phrases & compounds

Whip and spur — with the utmost haste.

Whip crane — 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.

Whip ray — the European eagle ray. See under Ray.

Whip roll — a roll or bar, behind the reeds in a loom, on which the warp threads rest.

Whip scorpion — 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 — any one of various species of slender snakes.