What does "clip" mean?
Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another.
Clip
/klɪp/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another.
- Grammar: clip is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abbreviate, abridge, abscind, abstract.
- Useful contrasts: detach, full version, pothooks.
- Usage evidence: A note was attached to the document with a paper clip.
How to use "clip"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clip" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "clip" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "clip" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clip" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "clip" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abbreviate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "clip", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another.
"Use this clip to attach the check to your tax form."
- 2 Something which has been clipped from a larger whole countable, uncountable
"Early [teddy] bears were made of the clip of angora goats."
- 3 a sharp slanting blow wordnet
- 4 An unspecified, but normally understood as rapid, speed or pace.
"She reads at a pretty good clip."
- 5 Something which has been clipped from a larger whole:; The product of a single shearing of sheep. countable, uncountable
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 the act of clipping or snipping wordnet
- 7 An embrace. obsolete
"But finding theſe North climes do coldly him embrace, / Not vſde to frozen clips, he ſtraue to find ſome part, / Where with most eaſe & warmth he might employ his art: […]"
- 8 Something which has been clipped from a larger whole:; A season's crop of wool. countable, uncountable
- 9 a metal frame or container holding cartridges; can be inserted into an automatic gun wordnet
- 10 A frame containing a number of rounds of ammunition which is intended to be inserted into an internal magazine of a firearm to allow for rapid reloading.
- 11 Something which has been clipped from a larger whole:; A section of video taken from a film, broadcast, or other longer video. countable, uncountable
"The morning news today played a clip of last night's debate."
- 12 any of various small fasteners used to hold loose articles together wordnet
- 13 A removable magazine of a firearm. colloquial
- 14 Something which has been clipped from a larger whole:; A short piece of audio (shortened version of audio clip, or alternatively clipping of audio). countable, uncountable
- 15 an article of jewelry that can be clipped onto a hat or dress wordnet
- 16 A projecting flange on the upper edge of a horseshoe, turned up so as to embrace the lower part of the hoof; a toe clip or beak.
"1831-1850, William Youatt, On the Structure and the Diseases of the Horse The heel - clips are two clips at the heels of the side bars , which correspond to the toe - clip ; the latter embracing the toe of the crust , whilst the former embrace its heels"
- 17 Something which has been clipped from a larger whole:; A newspaper clipping. countable, uncountable
- 18 an instance or single occasion for some event wordnet
- 19 A gaff or hook for landing the fish, as in salmon fishing. Scotland, UK
- 20 An act of clipping, such as a haircut. countable, uncountable
"I went into the salon to get a clip."
- 21 The condition of something, its state. Geordie, uncountable
"Deeky the clip of that aad wife ower thor!"
- 22 A blow with the hand (often in the set phrase clip round the ear) countable, informal, uncountable
"Give him a clip round the ear!"
Verb
- 1 To grip tightly.
- 2 To cut, especially with scissors or shears as opposed to a knife etc.
"She clipped my hair with her scissors."
- 3 terminate or abbreviate before its intended or proper end or its full extent wordnet
- 4 To fasten with a clip.
"Please clip the photos to the pages where they will go."
- 5 To curtail; to cut short.
"All my reports go with the modest truth; / No more nor clipped, but so."
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of wordnet
- 7 To hug, embrace. archaic
""As how, my lambkin," blushing, she replide, / "Because I in this dancing schoole abide? / If that it be, that breede's this discontent, / We will remoue the camp incontinent: / For shelter onelie, sweete heart, came I hither, / And to auoide the troblous stormie weather; / But now the coaste is cleare, we will be gonne, / Since, but thy self, true louer I haue none." / With that she sprung full lightlie to my lips / And fast about the neck me colle's, and clips ..."
- 8 To strike with the hand. dialectal, informal
"I’ll clip ye round the lugs!"
- 9 attach with a clip wordnet
- 10 To collect signatures, generally with the use of a clipboard. slang
- 11 To hit or strike, especially in passing.
"The car skidded off the road and clipped a lamppost."
- 12 sever or remove by pinching or snipping wordnet
- 13 To perform an illegal tackle, throwing the body across the back of an opponent's leg or hitting him from the back below the waist while moving up from behind unless the opponent is a runner or the action is in close line play.
- 14 run at a moderately swift pace wordnet
- 15 To cut off a signal level at a certain maximum value.
"The WFM display above shows a very contrasty picture with clipped whites and blacks."
- 16 To discard (an occluded part of a model or scene) rather than waste resources on rendering it.
- 17 To move (through or into) (a rendered object or barrier). ambitransitive
"The camera keeps clipping that ceiling."
- 18 To assassinate; to bump off. slang
"It was after they tried to clip me at the cafe."
- 19 To cheat, swindle, or fleece. slang, transitive
- 20 to grab or take stealthily. slang, transitive
- 21 To make a clip; to cut a section of video from a film, broadcast, or other longer video.
"I clipped the moment they beat the world record live on stream."
- 22 To treat (an aneurysm) by closing it off with a physical clip. transitive
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"A note was attached to the document with a paper clip."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clip"?
Common synonyms include: abbreviate, abridge, abscind, abstract, adhere to, ammunition magazine.
How do you use "clip" in a sentence?
A note was attached to the document with a paper clip.
How do you pronounce "clip"?
Pronounced /klɪp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English clippen, cleppen, clüppen, from Old English clyppan (“to hug, embrace, cherish, clasp”), from Proto-Germanic *klumpijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *glemb-, *glembʰ- (“lump, clump, clod, clamp”). Cognate with Old Frisian kleppa, klippa (“to hug, embrace”), Middle High German klimpen, klimpfen (“to contract tightly, constrict, squeeze”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English clippen, from Old Norse klippa (“to clip, cut the hair, shear sheep”). Cognate with Icelandic klippa (“to clip”), Swedish klippa (“to clip”), Danish klippe (“to clip”), Norwegian Bokmål klippe (“to clip”).