zippy
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of zippy
Explanation
Zippy can mean speedy, or bright and spirited. You may wake up in a zippy mood, full of energy, and jump in your zippy little car so you can get to school early. When an object is zippy, it moves fast or energetically, like the zippy robotic vacuum cleaner that regularly terrifies your cat. And when people are zippy, they're spirited, like a zippy dance troupe. Language can be zippy too — think of wisecracking dialog or clever wordplay. This informal adjective comes from zip, "the sound of something moving rapidly."
Vocabulary lists containing zippy
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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.
But when audiences girded their loins for the sequel—this one as lavishly supported by glossy publishers as its earlier version was disavowed—there was a single character whose zippy quippiness was most anticipated.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
The economy expanded at zippy 4.4% annual pace in the third quarter of 2025, an updated estimate showed, to keep the U.S. on track to score the fifth straight year of above-average growth.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 22, 2026
HBM stands for high-bandwidth memory, a zippy, costly kind used for artificial intelligence.
From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026
If your family leans wine, pick a single bottle that actually suits the meal: something crisp and acidic like a zippy Sauvignon Blanc, a light-bodied floral Beaujolais or even a gently funky orange wine.
From Salon • Nov. 25, 2025
It made several more zippy runs—one between my ankles—before I was able to steer it to the beach.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
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.
