skipper

¹ American  

[skip-er] / ˈskɪp ər /

noun

1. the master or captain of a vessel, especially of a small trading or fishing vessel.

2. a captain or leader, as of a team.

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verb (used with object)

skippers, present (3rd person singular) skippered, past participle, past skippering present participle

1. to act as skipper of.

skipper ² American  

[skip-er] / ˈskɪp ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that skips.

2. any of various insects that hop or fly with jerky motions.

3. any of numerous quick-flying, lepidopterous insects of the family Hesperiidae, closely related to the true butterflies.

4. saury.

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skipper ¹ British  

/ ˈskɪpə /

noun

1. the captain of any vessel

2. the captain of an aircraft

3. a manager or leader, as of a sporting team

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verb

1. to act as skipper (of)

skipper ² British  

/ ˈskɪpə /

noun

1. a person or thing that skips

2. any small butterfly of the family Hesperiidae, having a hairy mothlike body and erratic darting flight

3. another name for saury

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• skippering
  present
• skippered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• skipper
  simple
• skippers
  simple
• have skippered
  perfect
• has skippered
  perfect
• am skippering
  progressive
• are skippering
  progressive
• is skippering
  progressive
• have been skippering
  perfect progressive
• has been skippering
  perfect progressive

Past

• skippered
  simple
• had skippered
  perfect
• was skippering
  progressive
• were skippering
  progressive
• had been skippering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will skipper
  simple
• will have skippered
  perfect
• will be skippering
  progressive
• will have been skippering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of skipper¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle Dutch schipper, equivalent to schip ship ¹ + -er -er ¹

Origin of skipper²

1200–50; Middle English: locust. See skip ¹, -er ¹

Explanation

The person in charge of a ship or boat is the skipper. Another word for the skipper is the "captain," but skipper is so much more fun to say. Skipper is an informal name for the captain, a way to address the person who's at the helm of a boat or in command of a Navy ship. The word skipper comes from the Dutch schipper, from schip, or "ship." Sometimes this word is also used for the captain of a team or the pilot of an airplane.

Example Sentences

After an 80-82 season in 2010, Torre passed on skipper duties to Mattingly.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026

Although Stokes won almost 56% of his previous 43 Tests as captain - the best success rate for an England skipper in 45 years - his methods were found wanting against the biggest opponents.

From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026

Preller, the Padres’ third GM in five years, dismissed Black in the middle of the 2015 season, leaving Roberts as the interim skipper for a game before Pat Murphy was promoted from triple A.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2026

He gave his skipper a vote of confidence at the beginning of last month, telling MLB.com that the Mets “don’t view this as a manager problem, and we don’t intend to make a change.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

“Hebe, get in here for a second, on the double. Your skipper needs you.”

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Related Words

• captain
• sea captain