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• piper
  piper

  noun

  a person who plays on a pipe.
• Piper
  Piper

  noun

  John. 1903–92, British artist. An official war artist in World War II, he is known esp for his watercolours of bombed churches and his stained glass in Coventry Cathedral

piper

American  

[pahy-per] / ˈpaɪ pər /

noun

• pipers
  plural

1. a person who plays on a pipe.

2. a bagpiper.

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idioms

1. pay the piper,

   1. to pay the cost of something.

   2. to bear the unfavorable consequences of one's actions or pleasures.

      Someday he'll have to pay the piper for all that gambling.

piper ¹ British  

/ ˈpaɪpə /

noun

1. a person who plays a pipe or bagpipes

2. to bear the cost of an undertaking and control it

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Piper ² British  

/ ˈpaɪpə /

noun

1. John. 1903–92, British artist. An official war artist in World War II, he is known esp for his watercolours of bombed churches and his stained glass in Coventry Cathedral

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piper More Idioms  

1. see call the tune (pay the piper).

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pipers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of piper

before 1000; Middle English; Old English pīpere. See pipe ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

piper Piper pipers

After the parade, a piper appeared in a spotlight and played a single note.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

The parliament's piper, MSP Stuart McMillan, brought the event to a close with a performance in the members' garden of Bonnie Dundee and a Hundred Pipers.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

“Not Trad” is overtly Celtic, with a marching melody that could be played by a piper and a thumping drum that seems appropriate for a celebration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026

A neo-traditionalist and pied piper for the New York downtown set, Keith and his nine lives most recently turned to Instagram after a stroke impaired his ability to speak.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025

At the center of the maze, a piper is playing a lilting, wild song.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

He's like the Pied Piper or a town crier.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

A Piper Sandler survey of IT leaders in June found they expected to boost spending by about 5% this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Mike Bremner took off in a Piper PA-28 Cherokee airplane from Orange County’s John Wayne Airport just before 2 p.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

"He was like the Pied Piper to the Geordie public," Clark said.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Piper threw her arms around Annabeth and cried.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Serving military personnel, the grandson of British Commander Field Marshal Montgomery and pipers from the Jedburgh Pipe Band marched with the schoolchildren.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

International pipers dressed in green and yellow marched their way from Bayeux Cathedral to the Great Vigil at the Commonwealth War Grave Commission’s Bayeux War Cemetery.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2024

Over two days the competition featured 190 bands and almost 9,000 pipers and drummers.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2023

Even more people, along with a band of pipers playing “Scotland the Brave,” greeted her when she disembarked at Euston Station.

From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2023

They thrust their little necks out and kept up a musical whistling, like a tiny troupe of pipers.

From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White