clipped
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of clipped
Explanation
Use the adjective clipped for things that are cut very short — or for things that sound that way. "A clipped lawn is better for croquet," she announced in clipped tones. While you can use clipped where you'd use words like "shorn" or "trimmed," it's more common for this adjective to describe a particular way of speaking. If someone talks in a slightly irritated, very direct way, using sharp, short sounds, their speech is clipped. You can hear the difference between your math teacher's laid back "Hey kids, have a seat!" and your gym teacher's clipped command, "Take a knee. Now."
Vocabulary lists containing clipped
"Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Novel Study: Fences, Act 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Two Roads
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It was tricky. I was moving fast, clipped the eighth hurdler and lost my balance. That’s never happened to me before.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
But even if the opinion is written in the clipped vocabulary of habeas review, the stakes are larger than that language suggests.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026
Police have released body camera footage showing Tiger Woods after he clipped a truck and rolled his car in Florida last month.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
In footage shared earlier this week, Woods told officers that he was briefly distracted by his phone before he clipped the trailer of a vehicle in front of him.
From Salon • Apr. 2, 2026
Most of the black pages are filled with articles clipped from newspapers, but there are also handwritten letters, the dates ranging from only a few years previous to more than a decade ago.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
