Chip vs. Chit — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 16, 2023
A chip is a small piece broken off from a larger item or an electronic component. A chit is a short official note, voucher, or authorization.
Difference Between Chip and Chit
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A chip is commonly understood as a fragment or sliver, typically one that's been broken off from a larger entity. It can refer to fragments from various materials, such as wood or stone. On the other hand, a chit is not about fragments or physical pieces. Instead, it's a written note or voucher representing a debt or other promise.
In technology, the term chip has a specific meaning. It often pertains to integrated circuits or small chunks of silicon which process information, like in computers. Contrastingly, chit doesn't have technological connotations. Instead, it may refer to short official notes, especially in contexts like informal loans or to request something.
Food enthusiasts might immediately think of potato chips or other snack items when they hear the word chip. However, a chit has no culinary connection. In some settings, people might get a chit that allows them to obtain a meal or specific service.
Interestingly, while chip can denote something tangible, like a computer chip or chip of wood, chit is always about a concept or promise, often related to bureaucratic or official scenarios. Both words, despite their phonetic similarity, occupy vastly different spaces in language and usage.
Comparison Chart
Definition
A small piece broken off
A short official note or voucher
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Usage in Technology
Refers to integrated circuits
Doesn't have a technological connotation
Relation to Food
Can refer to snack items like potato chips
Can be a voucher for obtaining food/service
Tangibility
Often denotes something tangible
Always about a concept or promise
Phonetic Similarity
Sounds close to "chit" but means differently
Sounds close to "chip" but has different meaning
Compare with Definitions
Chip
A thin slice of food deep fried.
He loved the crunchy potato chips.
Chit
A statement of an amount owed.
She checked the chit before paying her bill at the hotel.
Chip
A mark or flaw left from a fragment removed from a surface.
The table had a chip on its corner.
Chit
A voucher authorizing benefits or services.
He needed a chit to receive his lunch.
Chip
A small broken or cut off piece, as of wood, stone, or glass.
Chit
A short official note, typically recording a sum owed
Write out a chit for whatever you take from the drinks cupboard
Chip
A crack or flaw caused by the removal of a small piece.
Chit
An impudent or arrogant young woman
She is a mere chit of a girl
Chip
A small disk or counter used in poker and other games to represent money.
Chit
Cause (a potato) to sprout by placing it in a cool light place.
Chip
Chips Slang Money.
Chit
A statement of an amount owed for food and drink, especially one signed to indicate acceptance of the charge.
Chip
See microchip.
Chit
A short letter; a note.
Chip
A thin, usually fried slice of food, especially a potato chip
Ate chips with her sandwich.
Chit
A ticket or token, especially one redeemable for food or drink.
Chip
A very small piece of food or candy
Made cookies with chocolate chips.
Chit
(Informal) An amount of credit considered as earned, especially by favorably impressing one having power or influence
Earned vital chits with his party's leadership by making fundraising speeches.
Chip
Chips Chiefly British French fries.
Chit
A child.
Chip
Wood, palm leaves, straw, or similar material cut and dried for weaving.
Chit
A young woman regarded as immature or insignificant.
Chip
A fragment of dried animal dung used as fuel.
Chit
A child or babe; a young, small, or insignificant person or animal.
Chip
Something worthless.
Chit
A pert or sassy young person, especially a young woman.
Chip
(Sports) A chip shot.
Chit
The embryonic growing bud of a plant
The chits of Indian corn or of potatoes
Chip
A trick method of throwing one's opponent in wrestling.
Chit
(obsolete) An excrescence on the body, as a wart or a pimple.
Chip
To chop or cut with an axe or other implement.
Chit
A small sheet or scrap of paper with a hand-written note as a reminder or personal message.
Chip
To break a small piece from
Chip a tooth.
Chit
(historical) A voucher or token coin used in payrolls under the truck system.
Chip
To break or cut off (a small piece)
Chip ice from the window.
Chit
(pharmacology) A small sheet of paper on which is written a prescription to be filled; a scrip.
Chip
To shape or carve by cutting or chopping
Chipped her name in the stone.
Chit
(gaming) A smaller cardboard counter generally used not to directly represent something but for another, more transient, purpose such as tracking or randomization.
Chip
To implant a microchip in (an organism).
Chit
A signed voucher or memorandum of a small debt, as for food and drinks at a club.
Chip
To become broken off into small pieces.
Chit
A debt or favor owed in return for a prior loan or favor granted, especially a political favor.
Chip
(Sports) To make a chip shot in golf.
Chit
A small tool used in cleaving laths. Compare: froe.
Chip
To cheep, as a bird.
Chit
Shit.
Chip
A small piece broken from a larger piece of solid material.
Chit
To sprout; to shoot, as a seed or plant.
Chip
A damaged area of a surface where a small piece has been broken off.
This cup has a chip in it.
Chit
To damage the outer layers of a seed such as Lupinus or Sophora to assist germination.
Chip
A token used in place of cash.
Chit
To initiate sprouting of tubers, such as potatoes, by placing them in special environment, before planting into the soil.
Chip
A sovereign the coin.
Chit
Shit.
Chip
(electronics) A circuit fabricated in one piece on a small, thin substrate.
Chit
The embryo or the growing bud of a plant; a shoot; a sprout; as, the chits of Indian corn or of potatoes.
Chip
(electronics) A hybrid device mounted in a substrate, containing electronic circuitry and miniaturised mechanical, chemical and/or biochemical devices.
Chit
A child or babe; as, a forward chit; also, a young, small, or insignificant person or animal.
A little chit of a woman.
Chip
A fried strip of potato of square or rectangular cross-section; a french fry.
Do you want sauce or mayonnaise on your chips?
Chit
An excrescence on the body, as a wart.
Chip
A thin, crisp, fried slice of potato, or sometimes another vegetable; a crisp.
They made their own potato chips from scratch, he ate a tortilla chip, served with a side of apple chips
Chit
A small tool used in cleaving laths.
Chip
(sports) A shot during which the ball travels more predominantly upwards than in a regular shot, as to clear an obstacle.
Chit
A short letter or note; a written message or memorandum; a certificate given to a servant; a pass, or the like.
Chip
(curling) A takeout that hits a rock at an angle.
Chit
A signed voucher or memorandum of a small debt, as for food and drinks at a club.
Chip
A dried piece of dung, often used as fuel.
Chit
To shoot out; to sprout.
I have known barley chit in seven hours after it had been thrown forth.
Chip
A receptacle, usually for strawberries or other fruit.
Chit
Chideth.
Chip
(gastronomy) A small, near-conical piece of food added in baking.
Chocolate chip
Chit
The bill in a restaurant;
He asked the waiter for the check
Chip
A small rectangle of colour printed on coated paper for colour selection and matching. A virtual equivalent in software applications.
Chit
A short official note.
He passed the chit to the officer for approval.
Chip
(nautical) The triangular piece of wood attached to the log line.
Chit
A signed note for money owed for food, drink, etc.
I owe the cafeteria, so I gave them a chit.
Chip
(historical) Wood or Cuban palm leaf split into slips, or straw plaited in a special manner, for making hats or bonnets.
Chit
A note or memo.
She wrote a chit to remind herself of the meeting.
Chip
Anything dried up, withered, or without flavour.
Chip
(golf) A low shot that travels further along the ground than it does in the air.
Chip
(transitive) To chop or cut into small pieces.
The workers chipped the dead branches into mulch.
Chip
(transitive) To break small pieces from.
Be careful not to chip the paint.
Chip
To play a shot hitting the ball predominantly upwards rather than forwards. In association football specifically, when the shot is a shot on goal, the opposing goalkeeper may be the direct object of the verb, rather than the ball.
Chip
To upgrade an engine management system, usually to increase power.
Chip
(intransitive) To become chipped.
This varnish chips easily.
Chip
To ante (up).
Chip
To fit (an animal) with a microchip.
Chip
To contribute.
Everyone needs to chip in £1 for George's leaving collection
Chip
(also, to chip at) To make fun of.
Chip
To cut small pieces from; to diminish or reduce to shape, by cutting away a little at a time; to hew.
Chip
To break or crack, or crack off a portion of, as of an eggshell in hatching, or a piece of crockery.
Chip
To bet, as with chips in the game of poker.
Chip
To break or fly off in small pieces.
Chip
A piece of wood, stone, or other substance, separated by an ax, chisel, or cutting instrument.
Chip
A fragment or piece broken off; a small piece.
Chip
Wood or Cuban palm leaf split into slips, or straw plaited in a special manner, for making hats or bonnets.
Chip
Anything dried up, withered, or without flavor; - used contemptuously.
Chip
One of the counters used in poker and other games.
Chip
The triangular piece of wood attached to the log line.
Chip
A small fragment of something broken off from the whole;
A bit of rock caught him in the eye
Chip
A triangular wooden float attached to the end of a log line
Chip
A piece of dried bovine dung
Chip
A thin crisp slice of potato fried in deep fat
Chip
A mark left after a small piece has been chopped or broken off of something
Chip
A small disk-shaped counter used to represent money when gambling
Chip
Electronic equipment consisting of a small crystal of a silicon semiconductor fabricated to carry out a number of electronic functions in an integrated circuit
Chip
A low running approach shot
Chip
The act of chipping something
Chip
Break off (a piece from a whole);
Her tooth chipped
Chip
Cut a nick into
Chip
Play a chip shot
Chip
Form by chipping;
They chipped their names in the stone
Chip
Break a small piece off from;
Chip the glass
Chip a tooth
Chip
A small piece broken from a larger whole.
She dropped the vase, and a chip broke off.
Chip
An electronic component in computers.
The new device has a faster chip for better performance.
Chip
A counter or token used in gambling.
He placed his chip on the black number.
Common Curiosities
Can "chit" represent a debt? A
Yes, it can be a note for money owed.
Are "chip" and "chit" synonyms? A
No, they have different meanings.
Is "chip" used in technology contexts? A
Yes, as in computer chips.
Is a poker token a "chip"? A
Yes, it's often called a poker chip.
Can "chip" refer to food? A
Yes, like potato chips.
What does "chit" typically refer to? A
A short official note or voucher.
Can "chip" refer to wood fragments? A
Yes, like wood chips.
Can a ceramic plate have a "chip"? A
Yes, if a small piece breaks off.
Can "chip" mean a mark or flaw? A
Yes, like a chip in a glass or on a surface.
Are computer "chips" edible? A
No, they are electronic components.
Do businesses use "chits" for internal requests? A
Yes, it's common in some businesses for various requests or authorizations.
Is a "chit" always about owing something? A
Not always, but it often represents a promise or debt.
Is "chit" a tangible item? A
It's a piece of paper or note, so it can be held, but it represents a concept or promise.
Is "chit" a modern term? A
It's been in use for centuries, but it's still used in modern contexts.
Can you cash in a "chit"? A
In some contexts, it can be exchanged for goods or services.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
