Definition of "fillip" []

• A snap or light blow made by pressing a fingertip against the thumb and suddenly releasing it. (noun)
• An embellishment that excites or stimulates: "Spritely tabasco onions, just a little crunch for the top, were an added fillip” ( Alison Arnett). (noun)
• One that is trivial or of little importance. (noun)
• To strike or propel rapidly by as or as if by a fillip: filliped his finger against my ear; filliped the pretzel across the counter. (verb-transitive)
• To stimulate or arouse. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Just as critics predicted, the rebate checks gave consumer spending a short-term fillip without changing longer-term incentives."
• "The result was a short-term fillip to statistical GDP but no surge in real growth."
• "Tax reform that lowers marginal rates while eliminating exemptions would make the economy more productive in the long run; but it would provide no short-term fillip to demand."