dipper
a person or thing that dips.
a cuplike container with a long handle, used for dipping liquids.
(initial capital letter)Astronomy.
Ornithology.Also called water ouzel. 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.
South Midland and Southern U.S. a person who uses snuff.
Origin of dipper
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dipper in a sentence
Odd, though, I never knew the names of many of them; wouldn't know any if it weren't for the dippers,—not sure of them as it is.
A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith NicholsonDippers, wagtails and the white-capped redstart were the commonest birds along the river-banks.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 | Charles Kenneth Howard-BuryWhile still hot it was dipped out with wooden dippers into rawhide bags, each made from an animal's skin.
Stories of California | Ella M. SextonSo grandmother threw two dippers full in the fire and she said it made an awful smell.
A Little Girl in Old Salem | Amanda Minnie DouglasHere Jack saw, and was delighted to see, some familiar friends of the Rocky Mountains,—the little dippers or water ouzels.
Jack the Young Canoeman | George Bird Grinnell
British Dictionary definitions for dipper
/ (ˈdɪpə) /
a ladle used for dipping
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
a slang word for pickpocket
a person or thing that dips, such as the mechanism for directing car headlights downwards
a small metal cup clipped onto a painter's palette for holding diluent or medium
archaic an Anabaptist
- See also big dipper
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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