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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

The company also expects gross bookings—a key measure of the total dollar value of transactions on its platform—to rise at a slower clip in the current quarter, projecting growth of about 15% to 19%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

In one of those calls, she mentioned the clip and said, “Can I send it to you or get it in front of your eyes?,” and he said sure.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

The clip went viral shortly after the incident on March 12, triggering a backlash that led to his arrest in Singapore, which is known for its strict enforcement of public order and hygiene rules.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

According to those updates, Fury controlled the opening rounds, although one clip posted on X showed Poland's Wach catching him with a right hand in the second.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 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

And Banda struck him out on a fastball that barely clipped the outside corner — and was initially called a ball, before a successful ABS challenge by Twins catcher Victor Caratini.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 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

Either way, the onetime roommates and bandmates pioneered a discomfiting broken-doll aesthetic of smudged eyeliner, smeared lipstick and plastic barrettes clipped to hanks of bleached-out hair.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

Nathan Smith edged behind, Kyle Jamieson clipped to mid-wicket and last man Matt Henry was bowled, all by Atkinson, giving the Surrey man yet another place on the Lord's honours board.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

There was a lake of perfectly clipped grass and, across the lake, an ivory-tinted building I vaguely recognized as Greco-Roman.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

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

He handed him a newspaper clipping about Roy Vagelos, the Greek American scientist leading research at Merck.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 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

The horse then bolted, before clipping another carriage and toppling over, footage showed.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

It’s what I carry in my pocket now instead of the newspaper clipping.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Low the ground, Well-nigh by waters clipt, a savage haunt With briar and bramble thick, and 'Thorny Isle' For that cause named.

From Legends of the Saxon Saints by De Vere, Aubrey

In this style laurel and box-hedges were clipt, and 210marble statues placed against them, 'to break the uniformity of the dark green with pleasant silhouettes.

From The Development of the Feeling for Nature in the Middle Ages and Modern Times by Biese, Alfred

She passed within the lodge, and threw her arms about his neck, clipt him and kissed him.

From The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VII (of X)—Continental Europe I by Lodge, Henry Cabot

In some it is more, in others it in less worn, clipt, and otherwise degenerated from that standard.

From An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Garnier, Germain

Thou hast clipt my wings for thy pleasure. 

From A House of Pomegranates by Wilde, Oscar

Related Words

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