Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

skipper

1 American  
[skip-er] / ˈskɪp ər /

noun

  1. the master or captain of a vessel, especially of a small trading or fishing vessel.

  2. a captain or leader, as of a team.

verb (used with object)

  1. to act as skipper of.

skipper 2 American  
[skip-er] / ˈskɪp ər /

noun

  1. a person or thing that skips.

  2. any of various insects that hop or fly with jerky motions.

  3. any of numerous quick-flying, lepidopterous insects of the family Hesperiidae, closely related to the true butterflies.

  4. saury.

skipper 1 British  
/ ˈskɪpə /

noun

  1. the captain of any vessel

  2. the captain of an aircraft

  3. a manager or leader, as of a sporting team

"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. to act as skipper (of)

"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
skipper 2 British  
/ ˈskɪpə /

noun

  1. a person or thing that skips

  2. any small butterfly of the family Hesperiidae, having a hairy mothlike body and erratic darting flight

  3. another name for saury

"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 skipper1

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle Dutch schipper, equivalent to schip ship 1 + -er -er 1

Origin of skipper2

1200–50; Middle English: locust. See skip 1, -er 1

Explanation

The person in charge of a ship or boat is the skipper. Another word for the skipper is the "captain," but skipper is so much more fun to say. Skipper is an informal name for the captain, a way to address the person who's at the helm of a boat or in command of a Navy ship. The word skipper comes from the Dutch schipper, from schip, or "ship." Sometimes this word is also used for the captain of a team or the pilot of an airplane.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

Skipper Santner top scored with 47 off 26 balls with two fours and four sixes.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

After loading up oil at Venezuela’s Jose Terminal in November, the Skipper offloaded oil to the Neptune 6, on Dec. 6, according to Kpler.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

Skipper Salman Agha praised his team's performance in the series.

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

Skipper Dasun Shanaka then swung the momentum decisively, clubbing 34 off just nine deliveries, peppered with five towering sixes.

From Barron's • Jan. 11, 2026

Fiona did not enter the attic that first day, but the sound of her steps turned Cora as stiff as her old sailing mate Skipper John.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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.