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

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

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

A bird’s-eye shot of spike heel-clad feet framing an esoteric dress acquisition, a styling clip attached to soft fabric sitting lightly and low-rise, a dress-up session framed by whitewashed wood with the perfect patina.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

"This tastes really sweet. It's almost like it's been coated in sugar," said Douyin influencer Liulianzi in a clip liked more than 17,000 times.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

You should sit back like I’m sitting back and clip coupons because the stock is going to be $150 a share’.’”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

A clip from a forgotten HBO original film, “Something the Lord Made,” starring Alan Rickman and Mos Def.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

Inside, there’s a stack of documents held together by a paper clip.

From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio

Woods was involved in a March 27 road accident in Florida in which his vehicle clipped a truck pulling a trailer and flipped on its side while attempting to pass on a residential road.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

He held up on a curveball from Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola that clipped the bottom of the strike zone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

She has never clipped her children’s toenails—too anxious for that, she said, so the nanny handles it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Phil Salt edged the first ball of the chase behind, then Jos Buttler clipped to mid-wicket, also for a duck, both off Arshdeep Singh.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

The left corner of the Nova’s rear bumper clipped the chain-link post, taking the gate with it and knocking down a good part of the fence.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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

On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Yamamoto turned to his splitter for the first time, barely clipping the inside edge of the strike zone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

The horse then bolted, before clipping another carriage and toppling over, footage showed.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

Talarico recently said some of his past comments “missed the mark,” and he accused Paxton of “intentionally clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption.”

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

They were at the breakfast table, Mrs. Eberhardt carefully clipping articles and photographs from the morning newspaper.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

The arrows flitted and clipt amongst us like a flight of bats!

From Cobwebs from an Empty Skull by Ambrose Bierce

A verdant screen may be made in this way, of the wildest and most beautiful description, which should never be clipt, only pruned, allowing the loose branches to drop over those that are taken away.

From Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Volume V (of 10) by J. G. (John Gibson) Lockhart

Then he clipt my hand and wrung it, babbling out some boyish brava that I made haste to put an end to.

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

From pricking ears to mincing feet She was all tense with blood and quiver, You saw her clipt hide twitch and shiver Over her netted cords of veins.

From Reynard the Fox by John Masefield

Down vistas long of clipt charmille Watteau as Pierrot leads the reel; Tabor and pipe the dancers guide As I read on.

From The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell by James Russell Lowell

Related Words

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