zipper

American  

[zip-er] / ˈzɪp ər /

noun

zippers plural

1. 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.

2. a person or thing that zips.

3. a rubber and fabric boot or overshoe fastened up the leg by a zipper.

4. a large illuminated display of news bulletins or advertisements that rapidly and continously flash by on an upper part of a building.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. zip.

zipper British  

/ ˈzɪpə /

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): zip.  a fastening device operating by means of two parallel rows of metal or plastic teeth on either side of a closure that are interlocked by a sliding tab

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• zipperless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• zippers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of zipper

1920–25, formerly a trademark; see zip ¹, -er ¹

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

“There was this refusal to acknowledge what was patently obvious to even someone who just looks at this thing: I don’t think this is a societally valuable way to travel,” Zipper said.

From Slate • Jun. 22, 2025

But the structure of his 70-minute performance, which opened the Monday Evening Concert’s 85th season at the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall last month in downtown L.A., was more awkward.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2024

This fall, the Calidore returns to Colburn to survey a hometown composer, the Hollywood film-score icon Erich Wolfgang Korngold, playing his little-known three string quartets in the first program, in Zipper Hall.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2024

The size puts it in a sweet spot between the 2,265-seat Disney and the popular 415-seat Herbert Zipper Concert Hall already on the Colburn campus.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2024

“Welcome to the Zipper Club, Ryan Dean,” he said.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

Related Words

• connection
• link