clip

¹ American  

[klip] / klɪp /

verb (used with object)

clipped, clipped, clipt, clipping

1. to cut, or cut off or out, as with shears.

   to clip a rose from a bush.

2. to trim by cutting.

   to clip a hedge.

3. to cut or trim the hair or fleece of; shear.

   to clip a poodle.

4. to pare the edge of (a coin).

5. to cut short; curtail.

   We clipped our visit by a week to return home earlier.

6. to pronounce rapidly, with precise articulation and with omission of certain sounds, as of unstressed vowels.

   an annoying habit of clipping his words.

7. to shorten (a word or phrase) by dropping one or more syllables.

8. Informal. to hit with a quick, sharp blow.

   He clipped him on the jaw with a sudden punch.

9. Slang. to take or get money from by dishonest means; swindle; rook.

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verb (used without object)

clipped, clipped, clipt, clipping

1. to clip or cut something.

2. to cut articles or pictures from a newspaper, magazine, etc.

3. to move swiftly.

   He clipped along the highway on his motorcycle.

4. Archaic. to fly rapidly.

noun

1. the act of clipping.

2. anything clipped off, especially the wool shorn at a single shearing of sheep.

3. the amount of wool shorn in one season.

4. (used with a plural verb) clips, an instrument for clipping; shears.

5. film clip.

6. Informal. clipping.

7. Informal. a quick, sharp blow.

   a clip on the jaw.

8. rate; pace.

   at a rapid clip.

clip ² American  

[klip] / klɪp /

noun

1. a device that grips and holds tightly.

2. a metal or plastic clasp for holding together papers, letters, etc.

3. cartridge clip.

4. an article of jewelry or other decoration clipped onto clothing, shoes, hats, etc.

5. a flange on the upper surface of a horseshoe.

6. Also called lug. Shipbuilding. a short length of angle iron connecting and maintaining the angle between two members or surfaces.

7. Archaic. an embrace.

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verb (used with or without object)

clipped, clipping

1. to grip tightly; fasten with or as if with a clip.

2. to encircle; encompass.

3. Football. to block by illegally throwing the body across a player's legs from behind.

4. Archaic. to embrace or hug.

clip ¹ British  

/ klɪp /

verb

1. (also intr) to cut, snip, or trim with or as if with scissors or shears, esp in order to shorten or remove a part

2. to punch (a hole) in something, esp a ticket

3. to curtail or cut short

4. to move a short section from (a film, etc)

5. to shorten (a word)

6. (intr) to trot or move rapidly, esp over a long distance

   a horse clipping along the road

7. informal to strike with a sharp, often slanting, blow

8. slang to obtain (money) by deception or cheating

9. slang to murder; execute

10. 1. to restrict someone's freedom

    2. to thwart someone's ambition

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noun

1. the act or process of clipping

2. something clipped off

3. an extract from a film, newspaper, etc

4. informal a sharp, often slanting, blow

5. informal speed

   a rapid clip

6. the total quantity of wool shorn, as in one place, season, etc

7. another word for clipped form

clip ² British  

/ klɪp /

noun

1. any of various small implements used to hold loose articles together or to attach one article to another

2. an article of jewellery that can be clipped onto a dress, hat, etc

3. short for paperclip cartridge clip

4. the pointed flange on a horseshoe that secures it to the front part of the hoof

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verb

1. to hold together tightly, as with a clip

2. archaic to embrace

Other Word Forms

• clippable
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of clip¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English clippen, cleppen, from Old Norse klippa “to clip, cut”

Origin of clip²

First recorded before 900; Middle English clippen, cluppen, cleppen “to embrace, grasp, hold,” Old English clyppan “to embrace, clasp, cherish”; cognate with Old Frisian kleppa

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Explanation

Use the noun clip to talk about a fastener that holds things together, like a paper clip or a hair clip. A clip keeps loose things attached to each other, but when you clip something, you cut small pieces off of it. Think of when you clip your dog's toenails or clip the dangling ends off the blanket you're knitting. You can also use the verb clip for a figurative kind of cutting, like when you clip two minutes off your marathon time or clip your words — say them quickly and tensely — when you're angry.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clip clipped clipping clipt

I can see it in the relaxed, oversize suit she’s wearing, and the way her hair is thrown up in a claw clip.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

The New York Times’s Company quarterly revenue gained as the company added digital subscribers at a faster clip.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

The U.S. economy expanded at its fastest clip in more than five years during the third quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s initial reading on third-quarter gross domestic product.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

In late October, AFP's fact-checkers debunked a likely AI-altered clip that purported to show a former student of Texas Senate candidate James Talarico accusing him of sexual misconduct.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Then, too abruptly, the clip ended and we were suddenly back on T Wharf with Sookie and the newscaster.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

She clipped coupons until she was 88, so the money meant a lot to him.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

The hypnotic hook on “I Give Everything I Have 2 U” comes from a late-’60s soul obscurity, and then the singers’ voices are clipped into tiny fragments and transformed into a bouncing rhythm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Delta Air Lines Flight 7 was taxiing for departure when its left wing clipped Air Canada Flight 785’s horizontal stabilizer at around 10:30 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The Venezuela forward had a golden opportunity to announce himself on his debut against Motherwell but showed little composure as his shot clipped the crossbar on its way out.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

He wore a different face today, an older gentleman with dark hair and a neatly clipped beard.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Meanwhile, streaming industry analyst Devin Nash says it's easy to underestimate the time required to make clipping a success.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

And to do it, they’re clipping some flabbergasting selections from their media libraries and pumping them out into vertical videos.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

Right now, her favorite is the Nopal Cactus candle, which she made using a clipping from an employee’s yard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

He hit 30 off 20 balls before clipping Foulkes to a tumbling Daryl Mitchell at mid-on so Stokes will spend his final day watching his team-mates from the balcony.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

June was when our house got so quiet I could sometimes hear Dad clipping his fingernails a room away.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy

The wings of your ambition must be clipt: Your shame-faced virtue shunned the people's praise, And senate's honours: But 'tis well we know What price you hold yourself at.

From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 06 by Sir Walter Scott

The 11th we sailed E. by S. and 3 leagues from shore we had only 5 fathoms water, all the wood along shore being as even as if it had been clipt by gardeners sheers.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 07 by Robert Kerr

Back flew the bolt of lissom lath; Fair Margaret, in her tidy kirtle, Led the lorn traveller up the path, Through clean clipt rows of box and myrtle.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 13, No. 362, March 21, 1829 by Various

He clipt my arm suddenly, putting the value of an oath into his gripping of it.

From The Master of Appleby A Novel Tale Concerning Itself in Part with the Great Struggle in the Two Carolinas; but Chiefly with the Adventures Therein of Two Gentlemen Who Loved One and the Same Lady by Francis Lynde

Thou hast clipt my wings for thy pleasure. 

From A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde

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Related Words

• mow
• prune
• shave
• shear
• snip
• trim

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