The term has no formal definition. In practice, blue chips refer to securities of large-cap companies with a long operating history, recognizable business, and regular trading on exchanges. The key characteristic from an investor's perspective is liquidity: such stocks can be bought and sold in reasonable volumes without moving the price.
A common misconception is considering blue chips risk-free. Company size reduces the probability of sudden business disappearance but does not protect against price declines, dividend cancellations, or industry crises. These are securities with lower, not zero, uncertainty.
On the Uzbek market, the range of such securities is narrow: regular trades occur with a limited number of issuers, while others trade sporadically. Therefore, when building a portfolio, liquidity should be verified not by company reputation but by actual trading history over recent months.