dipper

American  

[dip-er] / ˈdɪp ər /

noun

• dippers
  plural

1. a person or thing that dips.

2. a cuplike container with a long handle, used for dipping liquids.

3. (initial capital letter)

   1. Big Dipper.

   2. Little Dipper.

4. Also called water ouzel.  Ornithology. any small, stocky diving bird of the family Cinclidae, related to the thrushes, especially Cinclus aquaticus of Europe and C. mexicanus of western North America, having dense, oilyplumage and frequenting rapid streams and rivers.

5. South Midland and Southern U.S. a person who uses snuff.

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dipper British  

/ ˈdɪpə /

noun

1. a ladle used for dipping

2. Also called: water ouzel.  any aquatic songbird of the genus Cinclus and family Cinclidae, esp C. cinclus. They inhabit fast-flowing streams and resemble large wrens

3. a slang word for pickpocket

4. a person or thing that dips, such as the mechanism for directing car headlights downwards

5. a small metal cup clipped onto a painter's palette for holding diluent or medium

6. archaic an Anabaptist

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dippers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dipper

1350–1400; Middle English: diving bird; see dip ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dipper dippers

Or the dipper, a little bird Norwegians call “the Fossekall, the ‘Call of the waterfall,’” that once gave Mr. Macfarlane a change of mood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Birds including the curlew, nightjar, dipper, lesser black-backed gull and red grouse are also named.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026

Some Native American tribes believe the cup of the dipper represents a bear and the stars in the handle represent warriors who pursue it.

From National Geographic ● Aug. 23, 2023

Dip: One of the best things about dip is that the dipper becomes the utensil, so you get to eat with your hands.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2022

The Captain followed Caroline to the kitchen and rinsed his hands by pouring a scant dipper of our precious fresh water over them.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson

Garnish with parsley, let cool 10 minutes, serve with dippers and enjoy.

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024

Swimmers, bathers and dippers have been taking a chilly dip in the sea at Porthcawl and Tenby over the Christmas break.

From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2022

We ended our tour at Hallam Lake, admiring the fortitude of American dippers, bathing in a snow-banked stream.

From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2022

As for the dippers, the sky’s the limit.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2022

Worsley, Crean, Vincent, McCarthy, and McNeish frantically pumped and bailed with anything they could find—the cook pot, dippers, their hands—anything that would get the water out of the boat.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong