zipper
Americannoun
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Also called slide fastener. a device used for fastening clothing, valises, etc., consisting of two toothed tracks or spiral metal or plastic coils, each bordering one of two edges to be joined, and a piece that either interlocks or separates them when pulled.
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a person or thing that zips.
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a rubber and fabric boot or overshoe fastened up the leg by a zipper.
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a large illuminated display of news bulletins or advertisements that rapidly and continously flash by on an upper part of a building.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of zipper
Explanation
A zipper is a sliding fastener. You'll get cold and wet if you don't zip the zipper on your coat during a blizzard. Zippers are usually made of metal or plastic teeth that fit together as you slide a tab along them. It's common to have a zipper on your coat, jeans, or dress instead of snaps or buttons. Suitcases and sleeping bags are usually closed with zippers too. The zipper was invented in 1917, but it was initially called a "zip." At the time, a zipper was a particular type of boot that zipped closed.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One of these proteins is dual leucine zipper kinase, or DLK, which acts as a sensor for neuronal damage and becomes active when metabolism is disrupted.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 27, 2026
Throw it in a little plastic zipper baggie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025
Our patient stylist, Fern Cerezo, does their best, but the zipper won’t close — the gap is too wide.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2025
Williams rode shotgun, his bug hooked onto the zipper of his backpack.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
A single strand of DNA consists of a backbone of sugars and phosphates, and four bases—A, T, G, and C—attached to the backbone, like teeth jutting out from a zipper strand.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
She steers brides who are taking GLP-1s toward more forgiving silhouettes, for instance suggesting dresses with adjustable lace-up backs instead of zippers, and prefers cuts that flare at the waist to help mask weight fluctuations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
Earlier research has shown that lead can appear in metal components of children's clothing, such as zippers, buttons and snaps, sometimes leading to recalls.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2026
For instance, artwork in a home’s entryway can be exposed to umbrellas, raincoats and zippers, while art displayed in bathrooms can experience damaging levels of humidity.
From New York Times ● Dec. 2, 2024
He said he designed jackets with zippers on the sleeves so they could be left on or removed.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2024
They buttoned all the buttons, zipped the zippers.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
