clip art

American  

noun

1. drawings or illustrations available, as in a book, on a CD-ROM, or in an online gallery, for easy insertion into other material.

---

clip art British  

noun

1. a large collection of simple drawings stored in a computer from which items can be selected for incorporation into documents

---

Etymology

Origin of clip art

First recorded in 1955–60; so called because the original clip art was clipped or cut out from a printed page, usually in books of illustrations specifically designed for this purpose.

Example Sentences

Wiener, the author, said it was his “strong speculation” that the artwork was made using computer clip art.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2024

The Moby Dick bot, as well as one that sent out computer clip art from 1994 and one called “weird satellite” have all left Twitter.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 13, 2023

The animated GIFs that first gained popularity and exposed the wider public to the technology included the Under Construction signs on early websites and moving clip art.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2022

Both artists take banal, electronic clip art and render it curiously unsettling.

From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2021

There were sheets of unlined paper and old magazines Dad had given me, an uncapped purple glue stick, and a folder so fat with clip art that papers spilled out of the opening.

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez