The word chip has several common meanings:

1. A small piece broken off from something larger. When you chip a tooth, a tiny fragment breaks away. A chip of paint might flake off an old fence, or a chip of wood might splinter from a baseball bat. The verb form means to break off these small pieces: “Be careful not to chip the dishes when you're loading the dishwasher.”
2. A thin, crispy slice of food, especially potato chips. These salty snacks are sliced thin and fried or baked until crunchy. You might also have tortilla chips with salsa or chocolate chips in cookies (though those are small chunks, not slices).
3. A small electronic component that contains complex circuits. Computer chips are tiny but incredibly powerful: a single chip smaller than your fingernail can perform billions of calculations per second. Your phone, computer, and even modern cars contain dozens of these microchips.
4. In poker and other games, a small disc used to represent money. Players stack their chips in front of them, and the person with the most chips at the end has the most money in play. The phrase “cash in your chips” comes from exchanging these gaming tokens for real money.

You might also hear expressions like having “a chip on your shoulder” (acting angry or looking for a fight) or telling someone to “chip in” (contribute money or help toward something).