whippersnapper

[hwip-er-snap-er, wip-]

noun

1. an unimportant but offensively presumptuous person, especially a young one.

whippersnapper

/ ˈwɪpəˌsnæpə /

noun

1. Also called: whipster. an insignificant but pretentious or cheeky person, often a young one

Word History and Origins

Origin of whippersnapper¹

1665–75; probably blend of earlier whipster and snippersnapper, similar in sense; whip, snap, -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of whippersnapper¹

C17: probably from whipsnapper a person who snaps whips, influenced by earlier snippersnapper, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Eisenhower had dismissed Kennedy as “that young whippersnapper.”

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Joe Root of Trent Rockets says he was "the most surprised person" in Trent Bridge after taking a catch "like a young whippersnapper" to dismiss Manchester Originals' Matty Hurst in the Men's Hundred.

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"If one of those three players was to win the World Championship, maybe beat a young whippersnapper in the final, what an achievement that would be. Maybe their best ever achievement," said Davis.

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Like his character, his powers haven’t dimmed with age, whatever the whippersnappers might think, and if both have made a few bad decisions in a long career, not even Superman is perfect anymore.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

News flash: We senior citizens have something you young whippersnappers don’t: the wisdom and judgment that comes from experience.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• baby 
• boy 
• daughter 
• girl 
• juvenile 
• kid 
• minor 
• offspring 
• son 
• youngster 
• youth