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• paper clip
  paper clip

  noun

  a flat wire or plastic clip shaped so that it can hold sheets of paper between two of its loops.
• paper-clip
  paper-clip

  verb (used with object)

  to fasten together with one or more paper clips.

paper clip

¹ American  

noun

paper clips plural

1. a flat wire or plastic clip shaped so that it can hold sheets of paper between two of its loops.

2. a spring clamp for holding papers.

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paper-clip ² American  

[pey-per-klip] / ˈpeɪ pərˈklɪp /

verb (used with object)

paper-clipped, paper-clipping

1. to fasten together with one or more paper clips.

   Paper-clip these letters and file them.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paper clips
  plural

Etymology

Origin of paper clip¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Origin of paper-clip²

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Even a tiny magnet can lift a paper clip against the pull of Earth's entire gravitational field.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

Channeling the fictional 1980s secret agent MacGyver, he unwound the paper clip and stuck it in his TV’s coaxial port to get a signal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 8, 2025

After a few weeks, Webb had read it and stuck a paper clip — about 500 in all — over every passage that might offend the higher-ups.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2025

He made a cellphone holder, a paper clip box and a toolbox out of steel — items he still uses to this day.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 4, 2023

With a frustrated groan, Bongo let the paper clip fall to the ground.

From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate