clipper

American  

[klip-er] / ˈklɪp ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that clips clip or cuts.

2. (often used with a plural verb) Often clippers. a cutting tool, especially shears.

   hedge clippers.

3. (usually used with a plural verb) Usually clippers. a mechanical or electric tool for cutting hair, fingernails, or the like.

   He told the barber, “No clippers on the sides, please.”

4. Also called clipper ship.  Nautical. a sailing ship built and rigged for speed, especially a type of three-masted ship with a fast hull form and a lofty rig, built in the U.S. from c1845, and in Great Britain from a later date, until c1870, and used in trades in which speed was more important than cargo capacity.

5. Electronics. a device that gives output only for an input above or below a certain critical value.

6. a person or thing that moves along swiftly.

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clipper British  

/ ˈklɪpə /

noun

1. any fast sailing ship

2. a person or thing that cuts or clips

3. something, such as a horse or sled, that moves quickly

4. electronics another word for limiter

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Other Word Forms

• unclipper noun

Etymology

Origin of clipper

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; clip ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

A smaller percentage of babies get the disease by sharing food, nail clippers or other common household items with their fathers, grandparents or day-care teachers.

From Los Angeles Times

Transporting passengers to the gold fields of California and racing to get the first spring tea from China to New York and London drove the rise of extreme clippers.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even a small cut from shared nail clippers risks infection, data show.

From Los Angeles Times

She examined the ticket: first-class passage on the Royal Amsterdam, the finest Dutch clipper ship to sail the northern waters, leaving promptly at ten o’clock!

From Literature

Britney Spears stared at herself in a mirror, grinning as she grabbed an electric clipper.

From BBC