clip1
- to cut, or cut off or out, as with shears: to clip a rose from a bush.
- to trim by cutting: to clip a hedge.
- to cut or trim the hair or fleece of; shear: to clip a poodle.
- to pare the edge of (a coin).Compare sweat(def 22).
- to cut short; curtail: We clipped our visit by a week to return home earlier.
- to pronounce rapidly, with precise articulation and with omission of certain sounds, as of unstressed vowels: an annoying habit of clipping his words.
- to shorten (a word or phrase) by dropping one or more syllables.
- Informal. to hit with a quick, sharp blow: He clipped him on the jaw with a sudden punch.
- Slang. to take or get money from by dishonest means; swindle; rook.
- to clip or cut something.
- to cut articles or pictures from a newspaper, magazine, etc.
- to move swiftly: He clipped along the highway on his motorcycle.
- Archaic. to fly rapidly.
- the act of clipping.
- anything clipped off, especially the wool shorn at a single shearing of sheep.
- the amount of wool shorn in one season.
- clips, (used with a plural verb) an instrument for clipping; shears.
- film clip.
- Informal. clipping(def 2).
- Informal. a quick, sharp blow: a clip on the jaw.
- rate; pace: at a rapid clip.
Origin of clip1
clip2
- a device that grips and holds tightly.
- a metal or plastic clasp for holding together papers, letters, etc.
- cartridge clip.
- an article of jewelry or other decoration clipped onto clothing, shoes, hats, etc.
- a flange on the upper surface of a horseshoe.
- Also called lug. Shipbuilding. a short length of angle iron connecting and maintaining the angle between two members or surfaces.
- Archaic. an embrace.
- to grip tightly; fasten with or as if with a clip.
- to encircle; encompass.
- Football. to block by illegally throwing the body across a player's legs from behind.
- Archaic. to embrace or hug.
Origin of clip2
Related Words
trim, shave, prune, mow, snip, shear, knock, smack, whack, lower, cut, truncate, shorten, reduce, pare, crop, dock, decrease, slash, bobExamples from the Web for clip
Contemporary Examples
In this clip, a teenage Minaj gets heated and throws a phone in a play rehearsal during her tenure at LaGuardia High School.
Check out a clip from this exclusive interview with SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace at the 2014 Savannah Film Festival.
Who Is Joe Manganiello? Sofia Vergara’s Fiancé on the Value of Hard WorkThe Daily Beast Video
December 29, 2014
The clip received heaps of Internet criticism after it went viral, and has since been pulled down from state channels.
Hitler is Huge in Thailand: Chicken Joints, T-Shirts, and A Govt.-Issued Propaganda VideoMarlow Stern
December 10, 2014
In the clip, Julie claims she lost her doctor and her premiums became unaffordable as a result of Obamacare.
The Strangest, Cheesiest, Most Brazenly False Political Ads of 2014Jack Holmes, The Daily Beast Video
November 3, 2014
But like the phoenix, he has risen in the form of a 2:11, horribly produced YouTube clip.
Historical Examples
If I should be caught and brought back, they'd clip my wings and brand me for life.
Captain BloodRafael Sabatini
All the mathematics 56 she needs is enough to count her sheep and figure her clip.
The Flockmaster of Poison CreekGeorge W. Ogden
He felt the clip board being pushed into his hand, then glanced down.
DecisionFrank M. Robinson
When I hooked him he started out to sea at a clip that smoked the line off my reel.
Tales of FishesZane Grey
It's been comin' his way ever since he was big enough to clip a coupon.
Shorty McCabeSewell Ford
clip1
- (also intr) to cut, snip, or trim with or as if with scissors or shears, esp in order to shorten or remove a part
- British to punch (a hole) in something, esp a ticket
- to curtail or cut short
- to move a short section from (a film, etc)
- to shorten (a word)
- (intr) to trot or move rapidly, esp over a long distancea horse clipping along the road
- informal to strike with a sharp, often slanting, blow
- slang to obtain (money) by deception or cheating
- US slang to murder; execute
- clip someone's wings
- to restrict someone's freedom
- to thwart someone's ambition
- the act or process of clipping
- something clipped off
- an extract from a film, newspaper, etc
- informal a sharp, often slanting, blow
- informal speeda rapid clip
- Australian and NZ the total quantity of wool shorn, as in one place, season, etc
- another word for clipped form
Word Origin
clip2
- any of various small implements used to hold loose articles together or to attach one article to another
- an article of jewellery that can be clipped onto a dress, hat, etc
- short for paperclip, cartridge clip
- the pointed flange on a horseshoe that secures it to the front part of the hoof
- to hold together tightly, as with a clip
- archaic, or dialect to embrace
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for clip
v.1
"to cut or sever with a sharp instrument," c.1200, from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse klippa, Swedish klippa, Danish klippe "clip, shear, cut") probably echoic. Related: Clipped; clipping.
Meaning "to pronounce short" is from 1520s. The verb has a long association with shady activities, originally especially in reference to cutting or shaving metal from coins (c.1400), but later extended to swindles from the sense "to shear sheep," hence clip-joint "place that overcharges outrageously" (1933, American English, a term from Prohibition). To clip (someone's) wings figuratively (1590s) is from the method of preventing a captive bird from flying.
v.2
"fasten, hold together by pressure," also (mostly archaic) "to embrace," from Old English clyppan "to embrace, clasp; surround; prize, honor, cherish;" related to Old Frisian kleppa "to embrace, love," Old High German klaftra, German klafter "fathom" (on notion of outstretched arms). Also cf. Lithuanian glebys "armful," globiu "to embrace, support." Meaning "to fasten, bind" is early 14c. Meaning "to fasten with clips" is from 1902. Related: Clipped; clipping. Original sense of the verb is preserved in U.S. football clipping penalty.
n.1
"something for attaching or holding," mid-14c., probably from clip (v.2). Meaning "receptacle containing several cartridges for a repeating firearm" is from 1901. Meaning "piece of jewelry fastened by a clip" is from 1937. This is also the source of paper clip (1854). Old English had clypp "an embrace."
clip
(klĭp)- A fastener used in surgery to hold skin or other tissue in position or to control hemorrhage.