clip

¹ American  

[klip] / klɪp /

verb (used with object)

clipped, clipped, clipt, clipping

1. to cut, or cut off or out, as with shears.

   to clip a rose from a bush.

2. to trim by cutting.

   to clip a hedge.

3. to cut or trim the hair or fleece of; shear.

   to clip a poodle.

4. to pare the edge of (a coin).

5. to cut short; curtail.

   We clipped our visit by a week to return home earlier.

6. to pronounce rapidly, with precise articulation and with omission of certain sounds, as of unstressed vowels.

   an annoying habit of clipping his words.

7. to shorten (a word or phrase) by dropping one or more syllables.

8. Informal. to hit with a quick, sharp blow.

   He clipped him on the jaw with a sudden punch.

9. Slang. to take or get money from by dishonest means; swindle; rook.

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verb (used without object)

clipped, clipped, clipt, clipping

1. to clip or cut something.

2. to cut articles or pictures from a newspaper, magazine, etc.

3. to move swiftly.

   He clipped along the highway on his motorcycle.

4. Archaic. to fly rapidly.

noun

1. the act of clipping.

2. anything clipped off, especially the wool shorn at a single shearing of sheep.

3. the amount of wool shorn in one season.

4. (used with a plural verb) clips, an instrument for clipping; shears.

5. film clip.

6. Informal. clipping.

7. Informal. a quick, sharp blow.

   a clip on the jaw.

8. rate; pace.

   at a rapid clip.

clip ² American  

[klip] / klɪp /

noun

1. a device that grips and holds tightly.

2. a metal or plastic clasp for holding together papers, letters, etc.

3. cartridge clip.

4. an article of jewelry or other decoration clipped onto clothing, shoes, hats, etc.

5. a flange on the upper surface of a horseshoe.

6. Also called lug.  Shipbuilding. a short length of angle iron connecting and maintaining the angle between two members or surfaces.

7. Archaic. an embrace.

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verb (used with or without object)

clipped, clipping

1. to grip tightly; fasten with or as if with a clip.

2. to encircle; encompass.

3. Football. to block by illegally throwing the body across a player's legs from behind.

4. Archaic. to embrace or hug.

clip ¹ British  

/ klɪp /

verb

1. (also intr) to cut, snip, or trim with or as if with scissors or shears, esp in order to shorten or remove a part

2. to punch (a hole) in something, esp a ticket

3. to curtail or cut short

4. to move a short section from (a film, etc)

5. to shorten (a word)

6. (intr) to trot or move rapidly, esp over a long distance

   a horse clipping along the road

7. informal to strike with a sharp, often slanting, blow

8. slang to obtain (money) by deception or cheating

9. slang to murder; execute

10. 1. to restrict someone's freedom

    2. to thwart someone's ambition

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noun

1. the act or process of clipping

2. something clipped off

3. an extract from a film, newspaper, etc

4. informal a sharp, often slanting, blow

5. informal speed

   a rapid clip

6. the total quantity of wool shorn, as in one place, season, etc

7. another word for clipped form

clip ² British  

/ klɪp /

noun

1. any of various small implements used to hold loose articles together or to attach one article to another

2. an article of jewellery that can be clipped onto a dress, hat, etc

3. short for paperclip cartridge clip

4. the pointed flange on a horseshoe that secures it to the front part of the hoof

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verb

1. to hold together tightly, as with a clip

2. archaic to embrace

Other Word Forms

• clippable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of clip¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English clippen, cleppen, from Old Norse klippa “to clip, cut”

Origin of clip²

First recorded before 900; Middle English clippen, cluppen, cleppen “to embrace, grasp, hold,” Old English clyppan “to embrace, clasp, cherish”; cognate with Old Frisian kleppa

Explanation

Use the noun clip to talk about a fastener that holds things together, like a paper clip or a hair clip. A clip keeps loose things attached to each other, but when you clip something, you cut small pieces off of it. Think of when you clip your dog's toenails or clip the dangling ends off the blanket you're knitting. You can also use the verb clip for a figurative kind of cutting, like when you clip two minutes off your marathon time or clip your words — say them quickly and tensely — when you're angry.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clip clipped clipping clipt

Rashford replied to a clip of the Stick to Football podcast in which Jamie Carragher expressed his frustration when former United defender Neville asked for thoughts on Rashford.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

It’s that after you clip this up, it will have millions and millions of views across the internet.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

In fact in the case of the 2012 Lucasfilm purchase, Disney was buying back stock at such a clip that its total shares outstanding dropped that year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Paxton said in a July campaign rally in McAllen in a now viral X clip.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Then, almost at once, she made for the living room, at a clip that scarcely gave her leave to call back over her shoulder, “Change that shirt, young man!”

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger

There will be 10 athletes in Friday's final instead of nine, with Lithuanian athlete Gabija Galvydyte - who was clipped by Werro as she fell - also advancing alongside the Swiss.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

He held up on a curveball from Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola that clipped the bottom of the strike zone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

My daughter is a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Clover, and for the past couple of months, she’s had clipped to her collar an A.I. communication device known as the PetPhone.

From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026

As the lines between podcasts, video and traditional talk shows have blurred, and every hot take gets clipped and spread across the internet, Charlamagne’s approach maximizes the current moment in media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

I gathered up a section of hair and clipped the berries into place.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Yamamoto turned to his splitter for the first time, barely clipping the inside edge of the strike zone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

Right now, her favorite is the Nopal Cactus candle, which she made using a clipping from an employee’s yard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

He hit 30 off 20 balls before clipping Foulkes to a tumbling Daryl Mitchell at mid-on so Stokes will spend his final day watching his team-mates from the balcony.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

Talarico recently said some of his past comments “missed the mark,” and he accused Paxton of “intentionally clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption.”

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

The first clipping showed a big, blown-up picture of a girl with black-shadowed eyes and black lips spread in a grin.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

"There was a lock of that black hair clipt from her head once when she knew it not," Sir John cried next.

From His Grace of Osmonde Being the Portions of That Nobleman's Life Omitted in the Relation of His Lady's Story Presented to the World of Fashion under the Title of A Lady of Quality by Frances Hodgson Burnett

He clipt my arm suddenly, putting the value of an oath into his gripping of it.

From The Master of Appleby A Novel Tale Concerning Itself in Part with the Great Struggle in the Two Carolinas; but Chiefly with the Adventures Therein of Two Gentlemen Who Loved One and the Same Lady by Francis Lynde

Down vistas long of clipt charmille Watteau as Pierrot leads the reel; Tabor and pipe the dancers guide As I read on.

From The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell by James Russell Lowell

And Keir, though his wings were now so happily clipt, still held his position as a traveller who had seen and noted much in his former wanderings.

From Uncanny Tales by Mrs. Mary Louisa Molesworth

Thou hast clipt my wings for thy pleasure.

From Tell Me Another Story The Book of Story Programs by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

Related Words

• mow
• prune
• shave
• shear
• snip
• trim