microchip

M3I1C3R1O1C3H4I1P3
US/ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌt͡ʃɪp/

noun

An integrated circuit.

“By the early 2020s, the strategic priority level of microchip fabrication prowess and capacity had only grown.”

Similar
chipmicro chipsilicon chipmicroprocessor chip
Less commonScrabble 20

Meanings

nounmicrochip (plural microchips)

plural microchips

    1. A microprocessor.

      By the early 2020s, the strategic priority level of microchip fabrication prowess and capacity had only grown.

      3 more examples

      The base of the antenna contains a few microchips, whose purpose Hiro cannot divine by looking at them.

      1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 360

      And so the microchip, say, reflects a certain electronically driven speed of society, just as the invention of a flint axe, reflected a society that was rhythmed fully by biological and environmental temporalities.

      2017, Robert Hassan, The Age of Distraction

      Previous attempts at designing self-cooling microchips have largely relied on a two-pronged approach, involving designing the cooling elements separately from the electronic elements, and then combining after the initial fabrication process.

      2024 February 20, Sarah Wells, “Self-cooling microchip provides a tiny solution to a giant problem”, in Inverse
verbmicrochip (third-person singular simple present microchips, present participle microchipping, simple past and past participle microchipped)

present singular third person microchips · participle present microchipping · participle past microchipped · past microchipped

  1. transitiveTo fit (an animal) with a microchip.

    White people be like: “My parter^([sic]) just microchipped me for pet play”

    2026 May 1, 0byes, X
    3 more examples

    Still, doing something to protect your cat is better than doing nothing, so you should have your cat microchipped in the groin area with a registered ID.

    1997, Paulette Cooper, Paul Noble, Jack Fleming, 277 Secrets Your Cat Wants You to Know

    In Britain, where the British BeeKeepers Association (BBKA) has been urging members to microchip their hives for some time, the continuing mystery and the belief that the crimes are inside jobs are taking their toll.

    2017 September 23, “From north Wales to Norfolk, distraught beekeepers ask: who’s stealing our hives?”, in The Observer

    In February, Skip Daly, a Democrat in the Nevada State Assembly, introduced a bill to make involuntary microchip implants illegal; he later amended it to include voluntary microchipping as well.

    2019 May 21, Zoltan Istvan, “A Chip in My Hand Unlocks My House. Why Does That Scare People?”, in The New York Times
  2. transitiveTo cause microscopic chips (abrasions) in a material.

    Material removal occurs when the abrasive particles, suspended in the slurry, are struck on the downstroke of the vibrating tool. The velocity imparted to the abrasive particles causes microchipping and erosion as the particles impinge on the workpiece.

    1992, ASM Materials Engineering Dictionary

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
Similar

nounelectronic equipment consisting of a small crystal of a silicon semiconductor fabricated to carry out a number of electronic functions in an integrated circuit

Similar
chipmicro chipsilicon chipmicroprocessor chip
Broader
semiconductor devicesemiconductor unitsemiconductor

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mey-der.?
  2. Ancient Greekμῑκρός (mīkrós)
  3. Ancient Greekμῑκρο- (mīkro-)
  4. Englishmicro-
  5. Proto-Germanic*kippōną
  6. Proto-West Germanic*kippōn
  7. Old English*ċippian
  8. Old Englishċipp
  9. Middle Englishchippe
  10. Englishchip
  11. Englishmicrochip

From micro- + chip.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque mikrotxip
  • mikrotxipintegrated circuit
Catalan microxip
  • microxipintegrated circuit
Chinese Mandarin 微芯片, 微片
  • 微芯片 (wēixīnpiàn)integrated circuit
  • 微片 (wēipiàn)integrated circuit
Finnish mikrosiru
  • mikrosiruintegrated circuit
French micropuce
  • micropuceintegrated circuit
German Mikrochip
  • Mikrochipintegrated circuit
Greek μικροψηφίδα
  • μικροψηφίδα (mikropsifída)integrated circuit
Italian microprocessore, circuito integrato
  • microprocessoreintegrated circuit
  • circuito integratointegrated circuit
  • microchipintegrated circuit
Japanese マイクロチップ
  • マイクロチップ (maikurochippu)integrated circuit
Korean 마이크로칩
  • 마이크로칩 (maikeurochip)integrated circuit
Polish mikrochip
  • mikrochipintegrated circuit
Portuguese microchipe
  • microchipeintegrated circuit
Romanian microcip, microprocesor
  • microcipintegrated circuit
  • microprocesorintegrated circuit
Russian микросхе́ма, микрочи́п
  • микросхе́ма (mikrosxéma)integrated circuit
  • микрочи́п (mikročíp)integrated circuit
Spanish microchip
  • microchipintegrated circuit
Turkish mikroçip
  • mikroçipintegrated circuit
Ukrainian мікросхе́ма
  • мікросхе́ма (mikrosxéma)integrated circuit
Vietnamese mạch vi xử lý, vi mạch
  • mạch vi xử lýintegrated circuit
  • vi mạchintegrated circuit
Cite this entry
APA

microchip. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microchip

MLA

“microchip.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microchip. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “microchip,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microchip.

Source: microchip on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.