What does "clipper" mean?
Anything or anyone that clips.
Clipper
name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Anything or anyone that clips.
- Grammar: clipper is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: amphibian, barber, clipper ship, clippers.
- Useful contrasts: slow vessel.
- Usage evidence: A clipper ship running before the wind with all her canvas spread is a sight to behold.
How to use "clipper"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clipper" 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 "clipper" 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 "clipper" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clipper" 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 "clipper" is acting as name, 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 "amphibian" 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 "clipper", 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 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, […]"
- 2 scissors for cutting hair or finger nails wordnet
- 3 A tool used for clipping something, such as hair, coins, or fingernails. in-plural
- 4 shears for cutting grass or shrubbery wordnet
- 5 Something that moves swiftly; especially:; 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,"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a fast sailing ship used in former times wordnet
- 7 Something that moves swiftly; especially:; An Alberta clipper. informal
- 8 (electronics) a nonlinear electronic circuit whose output is limited in amplitude; used to limit the instantaneous amplitude of a waveform (to clip off the peaks of a waveform) wordnet
- 9 An Asian butterfly of species Parthenos sylvia, family Nymphalidae.
- 10 A circuit which prevents the amplitude of a wave from exceeding a set value.
- 11 A person who mutilates coins by fraudulently paring the edges. historical
"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."
- 12 A confidence trickster; a conman. slang
""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.""
- 13 Anything showy or first-rate. obsolete, slang
"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
- 1 To cut or style (the hair) using clippers. transitive
"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."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from German. countable, uncountable
- 2 An unincorporated community in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
slow vessel
Example
"A clipper ship running before the wind with all her canvas spread is a sight to behold."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clipper"?
Common synonyms include: amphibian, barber, clipper ship, clippers, craft, cutting tool.
How do you use "clipper" in a sentence?
A clipper ship running before the wind with all her canvas spread is a sight to behold.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Americanized spelling of German Klipper.