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.

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verb (used with object)

skippers, present (3rd person singular) skippered, past participle, past skippering present participle

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.

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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

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verb

1. to act as skipper (of)

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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• skippering
  present
• skippered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• skipper
  simple
• skippers
  simple
• have skippered
  perfect
• has skippered
  perfect
• am skippering
  progressive
• are skippering
  progressive
• is skippering
  progressive
• have been skippering
  perfect progressive
• has been skippering
  perfect progressive

Past

• skippered
  simple
• had skippered
  perfect
• was skippering
  progressive
• were skippering
  progressive
• had been skippering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will skipper
  simple
• will have skippered
  perfect
• will be skippering
  progressive
• will have been skippering
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

Skipper Jarrod Bowen is also coveted by a number of Premier League clubs, although he didn't want to talk about that when interviewed by Match of the Day after the Leeds game.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

The panel believes The Skipper is on course to repeat: LaNasa has a huge lead over No. 2 Karolina Wydra of “Pluribus.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

Skipper McGinn also recognises the players have a final chance to be compared to past heroes like European Cup-winning captain Dennis Mortimer and Paul McGrath who lifted the 1994 and 1996 League Cups.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

The Skipper was later seized by the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

To which Skipper replied, “Yes, but the truth about the betrayal is very much alive!”

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• captain
• sea captain