clipper

American  

[klip-er] / ˈklɪp ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that clips clip or cuts.

2. (often used with a plural verb)  Often clippers. a cutting tool, especially shears.

   hedge clippers.

3. (usually used with a plural verb)  Usually clippers. a mechanical or electric tool for cutting hair, fingernails, or the like.

   He told the barber, “No clippers on the sides, please.”

4. Also called clipper ship.  Nautical.  a sailing ship built and rigged for speed, especially a type of three-masted ship with a fast hull form and a lofty rig, built in the U.S. from c1845, and in Great Britain from a later date, until c1870, and used in trades in which speed was more important than cargo capacity.

5. Electronics.  a device that gives output only for an input above or below a certain critical value.

6. a person or thing that moves along swiftly.

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clipper British  

/ ˈklɪpə /

noun

1. any fast sailing ship

2. a person or thing that cuts or clips

3. something, such as a horse or sled, that moves quickly

4. electronics another word for limiter

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Other Word Forms

• unclipper noun

Etymology

Origin of clipper

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; clip ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

He described himself as a "spiritual nomad", exploring paths through yoga, Buddhism, and Christian mysticism, and learned from the Dalai Lama - whom he gifted a tartan-pouched hair clipper in 1988.

From BBC

On 29 April 1989, he broke into the house of a next door neighbour wearing a nylon stocking over his face, armed with a knife and hedge clippers, the court heard.

From BBC

Crouched in cold mud under a thin Spring rain, vineyard employee Élodie Bonet snaps off unwanted vine shoots with her fingers and pruning clippers.

From BBC

Everyone on death row used the same nail clipper that a guard would hand them when they went to the shower, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

At night his tiny barber shop is a beacon of power with a TV playing music videos, strings of Christmas lights and the buzz of his hair clipper.

From BBC