slipper
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
-
a light shoe of some soft material, for wearing around the house
-
a woman's evening or dancing shoe
-
informal cricket a fielder in the slip position
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of slipper1
First recorded in 1470–80; slip 1 + -er 1
Origin of slipper2
before 1000; Middle English sliper, Old English slipor; see slippery
Explanation
A slipper is a kind of indoor shoe that slips easily on and off your foot. You may prefer to walk around barefoot unless it's really cold, in which case you wear slippers. Slippers are cozy, and they're often warm too. A more old fashioned kind of slipper was a dress shoe that slipped on the foot, rather than being buckled or buttoned—like Cinderella's glass slipper. The word comes from the fact that you can slip a slipper on or off easily. It's related to the Old English slypescoh, literally "slip-shoe."
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.
Brumbies captain Ryan Lonergan paid tribute to 36-year-old Slipper but said his team weren't motivated by the milestone, nor by ending their miserable record in Christchurch.
From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026
James Slipper scored a try in his 200th Super Rugby match as the ACT Brumbies broke a 26-year hoodoo on Sunday with a 50-24 hammering of the Canterbury Crusaders.
From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026
The opening seconds of the first Test saw the pair of them setting the agenda, Curry with a monstrous hit on James Slipper and Beirne swooping like a bird of prey to win a penalty.
From BBC • Aug. 2, 2025
A stirring which became an explosion as James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright hit the Lions with three tries in mere minutes and put them on their backsides.
From BBC • Jul. 26, 2025
It always cheered him up to read about Alfred T. Slipper and Dolores.
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
