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

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Etymology

Origin of dipper

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

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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

Another "dipper" is Leighton Lee, 51, from Porth, who said the feeling was "hard to describe".

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2023

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

She nodded slightly, and very gently, considering the size of the man, he gave her a dipper of water.

From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper

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

Combine crunchy vegetables — think carrots, cucumbers and radishes — with leafy ones, such as cabbage or little gems, and a few seasonal dippers, such as cherry tomatoes and sweet peppers.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 7, 2022

She began taking photos of Welsh landscapes and wildlife, such as Skomer's puffins, and released a photography book about dippers on the River Ogmore.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2022

Little dippers are also further away, making it hard, if not altogether impossible, for astronomers to capture a photograph to further investigate the dimming’s cause.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 14, 2022

Mr. Spencer darted in and out, thanking everyone, giving them dripping-wet rags to cool their faces, bringing dippers of water, weeping all the while.

From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper

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