A quip is a clever, witty remark that's quick and often funny. When someone makes a quip, they're tossing out a smart comment that makes people laugh or think, usually in just a sentence or two.

Imagine your teacher asks why everyone forgot their homework, and your friend responds, “We wanted to give you a day off from grading.” That's a quip: a fast, clever response that lightens the mood. Good quips sound effortless, even though the wittiest ones often come from people who are naturally quick-thinking.

Quips work well in conversations because they're short and punchy. A long, rambling joke isn't a quip, but a snappy one-liner is. When a character in a movie delivers a perfect quip right before something dramatic happens, it's that brief moment of cleverness that makes audiences smile.

The word can also be a verb. You might quip back at a friend's teasing, or a comedian might quip about current events. The key is that quips are brief, clever, and often show someone's wit and personality in just a few words. Unlike an insult, a good quip is more playful than mean, more clever than cutting.