Hip - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

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SKIP TO CONTENT hip /hɪp/ /hɪp/ IPA guide

Other forms: hips; hipper; hippest; hiply

Your hip is the area of your body at the top and side of your thigh, beside your pelvis. You might have a habit of closing the refrigerator door by bumping it with your hip.

Your hips are the flesh between your waist and upper leg, and they're also the bones that make up the complex joints there — the ones that make it possible for your legs to move so you can walk. When a person is described as hip, it means they're trendy or cool, up on the latest thing. These two meanings are unrelated, with the "cool" meaning coming from the slang hep, popular with jazz musicians around 1915.

Definitions of hip

noun either side of the body below the waist and above the thigh see moresee less type of: body part any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity
noun the structure of the vertebrate skeleton supporting the lower limbs in humans and the hind limbs or corresponding parts in other vertebrates synonyms: pelvic arch, pelvic girdle, pelvis see moresee less type of: girdle an encircling or ringlike structure
noun the ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the acetabulum synonyms: articulatio coxae, coxa, hip joint see moresee less type of: articulatio spheroidea, ball-and-socket joint, cotyloid joint, enarthrodial joint, enarthrosis, spheroid joint a freely moving joint in which a sphere on the head of one bone fits into a rounded cavity in the other bone
noun (architecture) the exterior angle formed by the junction of a sloping side and a sloping end of a roof see moresee less type of: exterior angle, external angle the supplement of an interior angle of a polygon
adjective informed about the latest trends synonyms: hep, hip to informed having much knowledge or education
noun the fruit of a rose plant synonyms: rose hip, rosehip see moresee less type of: fruit the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant

Pronunciation US /hɪp/ UK /hɪp/ Cite this entry Style: MLA

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Copy citation DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘hip'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback Word Family 2 million people are mastering new words. Master a word

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