When something is chipped, a little piece has broken off the edge or the face of it. The thing is still there — a cup, a plate, a phone, a tooth, a tile — but you can see a small bite missing, often with a sharp little gap. Paint or varnish is chipped when tiny flakes have come off and you can see the colour or the wood underneath. It is an everyday word, not a fancy one: people say it at home, in shops, at the dentist. The damage is usually small. If a great chunk is gone, we are more likely to say broken. Though actually, chipped is also just the past of the verb chip (she chipped the mug; in golf he chipped the ball). And in British kitchens, chipped potatoes are potatoes cut into thick sticks — food, not damage. The sense here is the damaged-edge one.