flipper
Americannoun
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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:
“The entangled line severely damaged a front flipper, cutting off blood supply,” Dr. Lance Adams, the aquarium’s director of veterinary services, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Before her, there was Porkchop, who was also rescued from the San Gabriel River with similar front flipper injuries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Under a blazing sun, the green sea turtle thwapped the surface of the San Gabriel River with her sole front flipper as aquarium staffers gripped her shell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
"I picked it up and thought I saw a movement in one flipper, so I carried it back to the campsite".
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
He slapped the ground with his flipper arm.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
This provides a distinction from unauthorized watch flippers and is helping Rolex slowly gain control over how its products are resold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
They raise part of their bodies above the water, open their mouths and move their front flippers in an excited pattern.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2025
That’s partly because homeowners in distress are now selling to third-party buyers such as home flippers and independent real-estate investors, rather than to banks.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 14, 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.
