whip

I had to use the whip to get the sheep's attention.

A lash; a pliant, flexible instrument, such as a rod (commonly of cane or rattan) or a plaited or braided rope or thong (commonly of leather) used to create a sharp "crack" sound for directing or herding animals.

Once he ran out of appeals, he knew he would soon feel the sting of the whip.

The same instrument used to strike a person or animal for corporal punishment or torture.

I had hardly said the word, when Kit jumped into the saddle, and gave his horse a whip and a spur — and off it cantered, as if it were in as great a hurry to be married as Kit himself.

1832, The Atheneum, volume 31, page 493:

At half-past ten, Tom Moody, Sir Huddlestone Fuddlestone's huntsman, was seen trotting up the avenue, followed by the noble pack of hounds in a compact body—the rear being brought up by the two whips clad in stained scarlet frocks—light hard-featured lads on well-bred lean horses, possessing marvellous dexterity in casting the points of their long heavy whips at the thinnest part of any dog's skin who dares to straggle from the main body […]

1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

From the far side of the wood came the long shrill screech […] which signifies that one of the whips has viewed the fox quitting the covert.

1928, Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, Penguin, published 2013, page 27:

I was going to vote against the bill, but the party whip came to see me and made it clear I needed to vote for it.

The Conservative deputy chief whip has resigned after admitting he had “embarrassed myself and other people” following reports that he drunkenly groped two men at a private club.

2022 June 30, “Tory deputy chief whip resigns after ‘drunkenly groping two men’”, in The Guardian:

Therefore, welcome new Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper, a man about whom even my esteemed political journalist friends know little - apart from the fact he was once Chief Whip, a job that requires knowing about every Tory MP's misdemeanours.

2022 November 16, Christian Wolmar, “Can Merriman use his rail knowledge to make a difference?”, in RAIL, number 970, page 44:

(politics) A member of a political party who is in charge of enforcing the party's policies in votes.

(UK politics, with definite article) A document distributed weekly to MPs by party whips informing them of upcoming votes in parliament.

to withdraw the whip

As a result, he was stripped of the whip on Tuesday, preventing him from voting in the fourth ballot to narrow down candidates to be the next party leader.

2022 July 20, Heather Stewart, “Tobias Ellwood temporarily given back Tory whip to vote in leadership contest”, in The Guardian:

In the letter, Hancock said he had spoken to the Conservatives’ chief whip, Simon Hart, last week, and been told the whip would be restored in time, “but that is now not necessary” – meaning he will sit as an independent until the next election.

2022 December 7, Peter Walker, “Row grows over Matt Hancock’s announcement he is quitting as MP”, in The Guardian:

(UK politics, by extension) The regular status of an MP within a parliamentary party, which can be revoked by the party as a disciplinary measure.

Did you want to add some whip to your coffee, ma'am?

mechanical advantage
mechanical advantage

(nautical) A purchase in which one block is used to gain a 2:1 mechanical advantage.

Had four bills and I bought me a car / Little red whip that I bought for my marge

2015, Stormzy (lyrics and music), “Shut Up” (track 15), in Gang Signs & Prayer, performed by Stormzy:

Big whip I'm underground parking

Come on, let's take my whip so we can get there in time.

(African-American Vernacular, MTE) A mode of personal motorized transportation; an automobile, all makes and models including motorcycles, excluding public transportation.

(roller derby) A move in which one player transfers momentum to another.

I was startled by the whip of the rope when it finally snapped.

The quality of being whiplike or flexible; suppleness, as of the shaft of a golf club.

Any of various pieces that operate with a quick vibratory motion

A spring in certain electrical devices for making a circuit

(music) A wippen, a rocking component in certain piano actions.

Lord Carington […] led the way with his chestnuts, having a distinguished brother whip, Lord Londesborough, by his side.

1871, Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, volume 20, page 308:

(historical) A coach driver; a coachman.

→ Irish: fuip

⇒ Jamaican Creole: wip

From Middle English whippen, wippen (“to flap violently”), from Middle Dutch wippen (“to swing, leap, dance, oscillate”) and Middle Low German wippen (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Germanic *wipjaną (“to move back and forth”). Some similarity to Sanskrit root वेप् (vep, “shake, flourish”), Latin vibrō (“I shake”). (See Swedish vippa and Danish vippe (“to shake”)).
The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound of a whip; compare the same development in whisk and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh.
The political senses are from whipper-in (“huntsman who keeps the hounds from wandering”), 18th century hunting terminology.


whip

The rider whipped the horse.

I whipped her with a newspaper.

(transitive, by extension) To hit with any flexible object.

She whips me in the first game of pool, I do not even get a shot. Eight-balled from the break.

2008, Edward Keating, The Joy of Ex: A Novel:

(transitive, slang) To defeat, as in a contest or game.

to whip eggs or cream

(transitive) To mix in a rapid aerating fashion, especially food.

He whipped the department into shape.

(transitive) To urge into action or obedience.

(transitive, politics) To enforce a member voting in accordance with party policy.

1677-1683, Joseph Moxon, Mechanick exercises
Its string […] is firmly whipt about with small Gut

(transitive, nautical) To bind the end of a rope with twine or other small stuff to prevent its unlaying: fraying or unravelling.

(transitive, nautical) To hoist or purchase by means of a whip.

to whip a ruffle

In half-whipped muslin needles useless lie.

[1716], [John] Gay, “(please specify the page number(s))”, in Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London, London: […] Bernard Lintott, […], →OCLC:

To sew lightly; specifically, to form (a fabric) into gathers by loosely overcasting the rolled edge and drawing up the thread.

He whipped the ball at me.

Composed play then saw Sam Ricketts nutmeg Ashley Cole before Taylor whipped a fine curling effort over Petr Cech's bar.

2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:

(transitive) To throw or kick an object at a high velocity.

whipping its rough surface for a trout

(ambitransitive) To fish a body of water especially by making repeated casts.

The pennants whipped in the wind.

(intransitive) To snap back and forth like a whip.

The wind whipped through the valley.

Two Friends, Travelling, met a Bear upon the way; the one Whips up a Tree, and the Other Throws himself Flat upon the Ground.

1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:

He looked up when I came in, gave a kind of cry, and whipped upstairs into the cabinet. It was but for one minute that I saw him, but the hair stood upon my head like quills.

1886 January 5, Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC:

She,[…] in a hurry, whips up her Darling under her Arm.

He whips out his pocketbook every moment, and writes descriptions of everything he sees.

1742, Horace Walpole, letter to Sir Horace Mann:

(transitive) To move (something) very fast; often with up, out, etc.

(transitive, roller derby) To transfer momentum from one skater to another.

They would whip me with their fine wits.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:

(figurative) To lash with sarcasm, abuse, etc.

to whip wheat

To thrash; to beat out, as grain, by striking.

en-verb

whip (third-person singular simple present whips, present participle whipping, simple past and past participle whipped)

whips (present singular third-person)
whipping (participle present)
whipped (participle past)
whipped (past)

бия

by extension, to hit with any flexible object

rihmata

nautical: to bind the end of a rope with twine