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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

On Friday, the Russian leader appeared again, in a largely silent 40-second video clip that showed him casting his vote online.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The clip used Larsson's Midnight Sun in a video appearing to show immigration enforcement raids.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

But if you watch the full clip from TMZ, he actually offers a small wave and a thumbs-up before being loaded into a van, although he doesn’t speak.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

Mike Rogers, his Republican opponent, has seized upon a clip of his once campaign partner, Hasan Piker, saying in 2019 that he believed America deserved 9/11.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

The drawing was still there, propped up against her neat stack of books, one corner drooping from the weight of a paper clip.

From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake

The Venezuela forward had a golden opportunity to announce himself on his debut against Motherwell but showed little composure as his shot clipped the crossbar on its way out.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Woods was involved in a March 27 road accident in Florida in which his vehicle clipped a truck pulling a trailer and flipped on its side while attempting to pass on a residential road.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Later in the record, on “How Love’s Supposed to Go,” he begins the song with clipped phrases sprinkled with funky accents in another luxurious rhythm that almost sounds like a classic sample.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

We ate vegan pizza and clipped on sequined cat ears.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

He pointed at an ID badge clipped to his belt.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

And to do it, they’re clipping some flabbergasting selections from their media libraries and pumping them out into vertical videos.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

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 hit 30 off 20 balls before clipping Foulkes to a tumbling Daryl Mitchell at mid-on so Stokes will spend his final day watching his team-mates from the balcony.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

Talarico recently said some of his past comments “missed the mark,” and he accused Paxton of “intentionally clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption.”

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

Wash brought out the newspaper clipping from his pocket and handed it to Lewis.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

Thou hast clipt my wings for thy pleasure.

From Tell Me Another Story The Book of Story Programs by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

"There was a lock of that black hair clipt from her head once when she knew it not," Sir John cried next.

From His Grace of Osmonde Being the Portions of That Nobleman's Life Omitted in the Relation of His Lady's Story Presented to the World of Fashion under the Title of A Lady of Quality by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Round the house there are meadows, and a large old-fashioned kitchen garden, and a small dark flower-garden, with clipt hedges and straight walks, quite in the old fashion.

From John Caldigate by Anthony Trollope

Somewhere in the garden a little sardonic laugh was clipt to silence.

From At a Winter's Fire by Bernard Edward Joseph Capes

Saturday, the 2nd May, was practically the last day clipt money was received by the exchequer.

From London and the Kingdom - Volume II by Reginald R. (Reginald Robinson) Sharpe

Related Words

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