flipper
Americannoun
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flippers
plural
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a broad, flat limb, as of a seal or whale, especially adapted for swimming.
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Also called fin. one of a pair of paddlelike devices, usually of rubber, worn on the feet as an aid in scuba diving and swimming.
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Theater. a narrow flat hinged or attached at right angles to a larger flat.
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Slang. the hand.
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someone or something that flips.
noun
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the flat broad limb of seals, whales, penguins, and other aquatic animals, specialized for swimming
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Also called: fin. (often plural) either of a pair of rubber paddle-like devices worn on the feet as an aid in swimming, esp underwater
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cricket a ball bowled with backspin imparted by the action of the bowler's wrist
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of flipper
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Even if you look slightly farther afield—specifically to a Montecito home that was bought by A-list home flipper Ellen DeGeneres in November 2025—it’s clear that price estimates don’t always reflect a home’s true value.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
The three-bedroom, one-bath home was dilapidated before an out-of-state house flipper fixed it up, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
One ex-house flipper said he’d experimented with 50 AI-generated business ideas before landing on one he liked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
In fact, as with Porkchop, it was wound tightly around her front right flipper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
He slapped the ground with his flipper arm.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Buoys and flippers still littered the ground along the fence, while others floated in the water.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
If customers sell those SpaceX shares within 15 days of the IPO, they will be flagged as flippers.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
This limited supply drives up prices and makes it harder for flippers to find properties they can renovate and resell for quick and healthy profits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Earlier in 2024, Essex County Council stressed it did not provide swimming equipment after a sign suggesting it would hand out flippers, masks and snorkels appeared at an underpass near the city centre.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2025
The flippers and life jacket keep me floating on the surface and it only takes a few minutes for me to get used to breathing through the mask.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
