First published 2013

whip-smartadjective

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Frequency

Quotations

Hide all quotations

Factsheet

What does the adjective whip-smart mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective whip-smart. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

This word is used in North American English.

See meaning & use

How common is the adjective whip-smart?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1940	0.0005
1950	0.0005
1960	0.0005
1970	0.0009
1980	0.0012
1990	0.0013
2000	0.0015
2010	0.0018

See frequency

How is the adjective whip-smart pronounced?

British English

/ˈwɪpsmɑːt/

WIPS-mart

U.S. English

/ˈ(h)wɪpˌsmɑrt/

HWIP-smart

See pronunciation

Where does the adjective whip-smart come from?

Earliest known use

1930s

The earliest known use of the adjective whip-smart is in the 1930s.

OED's earliest evidence for whip-smart is from 1937, in New York Times.

whip-smart is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: whip n., smart adj.

See etymology

Nearby entries

whip-roll, n.1863–
whip-room, n.1922–
whip-saw, n.1538–
whip-saw, v.1842–
whip-sawing, n.1885–
whip-sawyer, n.1881–
whip-scorpion, n.1912–
whip-shaft, n.1849–
whipship, n.1817–
whip-sloven, n.a1529
whip-smart, adj.1937–
whip-snake, n.1774–
whip-socket, n.1875–
whipstaff, n.1599–
whipstalk, n.1592–
whip-stall, n.1927–
whipstart, n.1581
whipster, n.1590–
whip-stick, n.1782–
whip-stitch, n.1640–
whip-stitch, v.1592–

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Meaning & use

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Pronunciation

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Frequency

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Entry history for whip-smart, adj.

Originally published as part of the entry for whip, n.

whip-smart, adj. was first published in March 2013.

whip-smart, adj. was last modified in September 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into whip-smart, adj. in September 2023.

Cite

Chicago

Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .

Copied to clipboard

MLA9

“” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, , .

Copied to clipboard

Select format to download citation

Contribute

Please submit your feedback for whip-smart, adj.

Please include your email address if you are happy to be contacted about your
feedback. OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose.

Section (required)

Feedback (required)

Citation details

Factsheet for whip-smart, adj.

Browse entry

Nearby entries

whip-roll, n.1863–
whip-room, n.1922–
whip-saw, n.1538–
whip-saw, v.1842–
whip-sawing, n.1885–
whip-sawyer, n.1881–
whip-scorpion, n.1912–
whip-shaft, n.1849–
whipship, n.1817–
whip-sloven, n.a1529
whip-smart, adj.1937–
whip-snake, n.1774–
whip-socket, n.1875–
whipstaff, n.1599–
whipstalk, n.1592–
whip-stall, n.1927–
whipstart, n.1581
whipster, n.1590–
whip-stick, n.1782–
whip-stitch, n.1640–
whip-stitch, v.1592–

Browse more nearby entries