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

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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

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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 clip went viral on social media, attracting media attention across the world.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

I can see it in the relaxed, oversize suit she’s wearing, and the way her hair is thrown up in a claw clip.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

She did not mention the scandal in the clip.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026

Now handsomely designed by Jose Varona, colorfully catching the 1881 original’s Spanish flavor, the divertissement to the music of Ludwig Minkus moved along at a winning clip.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

He walked at a fast clip, feeling quite excited because this was, after all, an excursion into the unchartered and unfamiliar.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

She clipped coupons until she was 88, so the money meant a lot to him.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

Adults under 30 regularly get their news in fragments clipped from six-hour Twitch streams and Joe Rogan-style podcasts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Ohtani clipped Braves catcher Drake Baldwin’s mitt and was awarded first base for catcher’s interference.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

He had three chances in eight minutes - a tame shot, a clipped attempt and then the big one - played in by Gilmour but pulled wide.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

The object looked like a silver pen, clipped to her pocket cuff.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Singh says he got hooked on clipping last year when he made $300 from posting a short video of popstar Dua Lipa on Instagram.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Back in London, Eknoor Singh says he is "kind of clipping non-stop", wherever he is.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

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

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 first clipping showed a big, blown-up picture of a girl with black-shadowed eyes and black lips spread in a grin.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

The 11th we sailed E. by S. and 3 leagues from shore we had only 5 fathoms water, all the wood along shore being as even as if it had been clipt by gardeners sheers.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 07 by Robert Kerr

The wings of your ambition must be clipt: Your shame-faced virtue shunned the people's praise, And senate's honours: But 'tis well we know What price you hold yourself at.

From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 06 by Sir Walter Scott

And the leddy too, sae genty, There shelter'd Scotland's heir, And clipt a lock wi' her ain hand Frae his lang yellow hair.

From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume I. The Songs of Scotland of the past half century by Charles Rogers

The arrows flitted and clipt amongst us like a flight of bats!

From Cobwebs from an Empty Skull by Ambrose Bierce

Immediately below, stood the insulated and respectable mansion or Palace of the Bishop; in the midst of a formal garden--begirt with yet more formally clipt hedges.

From A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume One by Thomas Frognall Dibdin

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Related Words

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

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