flip

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   marked by casual disrespect

   a flip answer to serious question

2. 2
   noun

   a sudden, quick movement

   with a flip of the wrist

3. 3
   verb

   go mad, go crazy

   They flipped when they heard that they were being laid off.

4. 4
   verb

   react in an excited, delighted, or surprised way

   I flipped when I heard that I was accepted into my first choice university.

5. 5
   verb

   turn upside down, or throw so as to reverse

   flip over the pork chop

6. 6
   verb

   throw or toss with a light motion

   flip me the beachball

7. 7
   verb

   lightly throw to see which side comes up

   I don't know what to do--I may as well flip a coin!

8. 8
   noun

   A maneuver which rotates an object end over end.

   We'll decide this on a flip of a coin.

Etymology

Alteration of earlier fillip, from Middle English filippen (“to make a signal or sound with thumb and right forefinger, snap the fingers”), an attenuated variation of flappen (“to flap, clap, slap, strike”). Cognate with Dutch flappen (“to flap”), German flappen (“to flap”).