zipper
Americannoun
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zippers
plural
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Also called slide fastener. a device used for fastening clothing, valises, etc., consisting of two toothed tracks or spiral metal or plastic coils, each bordering one of two edges to be joined, and a piece that either interlocks or separates them when pulled.
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a person or thing that zips.
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a rubber and fabric boot or overshoe fastened up the leg by a zipper.
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a large illuminated display of news bulletins or advertisements that rapidly and continously flash by on an upper part of a building.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of zipper
Explanation
A zipper is a sliding fastener. You'll get cold and wet if you don't zip the zipper on your coat during a blizzard. Zippers are usually made of metal or plastic teeth that fit together as you slide a tab along them. It's common to have a zipper on your coat, jeans, or dress instead of snaps or buttons. Suitcases and sleeping bags are usually closed with zippers too. The zipper was invented in 1917, but it was initially called a "zip." At the time, a zipper was a particular type of boot that zipped closed.
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.
See Examples For:
Watch to see how the Japanese company built the world’s biggest zipper business and the challenges it faces ahead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
One of these proteins is dual leucine zipper kinase, or DLK, which acts as a sensor for neuronal damage and becomes active when metabolism is disrupted.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 27, 2026
Throw it in a little plastic zipper baggie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025
It’s falling apart — there are holes in the fabric, and the zipper has been broken forever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2025
I dragged my backpack out of the darkness, onto my lap and slowly pulled the zipper.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Earlier research has shown that lead can appear in metal components of children's clothing, such as zippers, buttons and snaps, sometimes leading to recalls.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2026
They yank open industrial-grade zippers, unleashing a gust of helium, and dive chest-first onto the collapsing character.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
But Chinese factories rely entirely on local sources for everything, from fabric to zippers and buttons.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2025
His father, Aaron Traum, helped run a family business, the David Traum Company, which sold zippers and other notions on East 26th Street.
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
I looked over my shoulder and snorted at the gold-and-black book bag I was now wearing, with golden zippers and a faint hum rippling through it.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
