What does "zipper" mean?
A zip fastener.
Zipper
/ˈzɪpɚ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A zip fastener.
- Grammar: zipper is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: zip, zip fastener, slide fastener, articulate.
- Useful contrasts: button, lace, velcro.
- Usage evidence: This zipper doesn't zip smoothly.
How to use "zipper"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "zipper" 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 "zipper" 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 "zipper" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "zipper" 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 "zipper" 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 "zip" 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 "zipper", 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 A zip fastener. Australia, US
"He got his T-shirt stuck in the zipper of his jacket."
- 2 a fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab wordnet
- 3 A pressure-sensitive plastic closure, as on a Ziploc bag.
- 4 A leucine zipper.
- 5 A scar on a person's body. slang
"I also competed in track and field at Idaho, and it's all because of putting the shot that I've got my long scar, my zipper, down the back of my neck."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 An air patrol carried out at dawn or dusk. US, dated, slang
"[…] the usual gap between the time the last strike of the day departed and the first night hecklers arrived was closed with "zippers" — night fighters who, using day fighter tactics, proceeded to the target in daylight in time to relieve the last day blanket patrol."
- 7 A string of clothes pegs or clips attached to the body and then quickly pulled off.
- 8 A technique for arbitrarily traversing an aggregate data structure and updating its contents. See zipper (data structure).
- 9 A zipline.
"Skills acquired include learning the "Flea Hop" and the "Tarzan Swing" as well as "Riding the Zipper" (sliding 400 feet on a cable between two mountain peaks), canoeing in white-water rapids, bushwacking and learning to "rappel" hundreds of feet down sheer rock cliffs on a rope."
Verb
- 1 To close a zipper.
"He zippered his sweater against the cold."
- 2 close with a zipper wordnet
- 3 To put a zipper on an article.
"These fall jackets are zippered."
- 4 To act in a manner similar to a zipper.; To act in a manner similar to a zipper closing; to interleave.
"If more drivers knew how to zipper, the accident would not have disrupted traffic so much."
- 5 To act in a manner similar to a zipper.; To unzipper.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"This zipper doesn't zip smoothly."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "zipper"?
Common synonyms include: zip, zip fastener, slide fastener, articulate, bang, bar.
How do you use "zipper" in a sentence?
This zipper doesn't zip smoothly.
How do you pronounce "zipper"?
Pronounced /ˈzɪpɚ/.
Etymology
1925, zip + -er. The trade name was registered in 1925 by B.F. Goodrich for “boots made of rubber and fabric,” claiming use of the name since June 1923. No longer a registered trademark.