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

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.

From BBC

"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.

From BBC

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.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Salon

The whippersnapper was about 5 to 7 years old, some 4 meters long, and weighed about 350 kilograms—as much as a large domestic pig, and about 1/10 the heft of its parent.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

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