clipper
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clipper¹
- /ˈklɪp.ə/ Australia, UK
- [ˈkʰl̥ɪp.ə] Australia, UK
- /ˈklɪp.ɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
- [ˈkʰl̥ɪp.ɚ] ~ [ˈkʰl̥ɪp.ɹ̩] Canadian, US, Standard
Rhymes with -ɪpə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English clipper, equivalent to clip (“cut, shorten”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). The type of sailing ship is probably also from clip, in the sense of “move or run rapidly”. Perhaps influenced by Middle Dutch klepper (“swift horse”), from kleppen (“to clap”), which is onomatopoeic.
noun clippers
- Anything or anyone that clips. Yes, perhaps I’d better begin there, at the moment when I […] asked a question carelessly enough of one of the locals, who was clipping a hedge in a desultory fashion nearby. […] When I passed my hedge clipper again, he said, […]
- A tool used for clipping something, such as hair, coins, or fingernails.
- Any of several forms of very fast sailing ships having a long, low hull and a sharply raked stem. And those were the days of clippers, and the freights were clipper-freights,
- An Alberta clipper.
- An Asian butterfly of species Parthenos sylvia, family Nymphalidae.
- A circuit which prevents the amplitude of a wave from exceeding a set value.
- A person who mutilates coins by fraudulently paring the edges. Indeed, the French may lay twenty French crowns to one, they will beat us; for they bear them on their shoulders: but it is no English treason to cut French crowns, and to-morrow the king himself will be a clipper.
- A confidence trickster; a conman. "You have head enough for both of us, Beck," said he. "You're sure to get us out of the scrape. I never saw your equal, and I've met with some clippers in my time too."
- Anything showy or first-rate. Well, he was courtin' Sister Sall. She was a real handsum looking gal; […] a real clipper, and as full of fun and frolic as a kitten.
verb clippers · clippering · clippered
- To cut or style (the hair) using clippers. Rocks was having his hair clippered by another prisoner when Collins calmly walked past and sliced open the side of his face without breaking his stride.
Clipper²
Where it comes from
Americanized spelling of German Klipper.
proper noun Clippers
- A surname from German.
- An unincorporated community in Whatcom County, Washington, United States.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: limiter, clipper ship, sailing, yacht, earclip, clip, bread clip, snipper, stripper clip, nail clipper, snip, snippage, paperclip, alligator clamp, toeclip, pedi
Translations
Talk about this word "clipper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/clipper. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. clipper. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/clipper "clipper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/clipper.Cite this
@misc{clipper_2026,
title = {clipper},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/clipper},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
