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kipper

1 American  
[kip-er] / ˈkɪp ər /

noun

  1. a fish, especially a herring, that has been cured by splitting, salting, drying, and smoking.

  2. this method of curing fish.

  3. a male salmon during or after the spawning season.

verb (used with object)

  1. to cure (herring, salmon, etc.) by splitting, salting, drying and smoking.

kipper 2 American  
[kip-er] / ˈkɪp ər /

noun

Australian Informal.

  1. a young Aboriginal male, usually 14 to 16 years old, who has recently undergone his tribal initiation rite.

kipper 1 British  
/ ˈkɪpə /

noun

  1. a fish, esp a herring, that has been cleaned, salted, and smoked

  2. a male salmon during the spawning season

  3. archaic an Englishman

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to cure (a fish, esp a herring) by salting and smoking

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
kipper 2 British  
/ ˈkɪpə /

noun

  1. a native Australian youth who has completed an initiation rite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
kipper 3 British  
/ ˈkɪpə /

noun

  1. informal an adult who cannot afford to move away from his or her parents' home

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of kipper1

before 1000; Middle English kypre, Old English cypera spawning salmon, apparently derivative of cyperen of copper, i.e., copper-colored

Origin of kipper2

First recorded in 1835–45, kipper is from the Wiradjuri word gibirr “man”

Vocabulary lists containing kipper

World Cuisine - Middle School and High School

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Williams’ crew of producers, for example, include veteran R&B artist Kipper Jones, who worked on her earlier albums, and Chantry Johnson, who has also produced Lana Del Rey.

From Salon • May 2, 2024

Created by designer Michael Fish, it is a "Kipper tie", known for its unusually wide shape.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2024

Kipper later said that 15 Russia-launched drones were destroyed over the city.

From Reuters • Nov. 6, 2023

Kipper and Debbie Lloyd, a registered nurse, also traveled to the island to assist in the process and give Depp medication.

From Washington Post • Apr. 18, 2022

Before we attempt to give a picture of the "Kipper and Wipper" years, we must make some remarks on the coining of that period.

From Pictures of German Life in the XVth XVIth and XVIIth Centuries, Vol. II. by Freytag, Gustav

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.