clipper
clipper Lexical Profile
clipper Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An instrument or electric device with sharp blades used for cutting or trimming hair, fingernails, claws, or plants (usually used in the plural).
"The barber used a pair of electric clippers to trim the hair around the customer's ears."
A fast, multi-masted sailing ship of the 19th century, characterized by a narrow hull, overhanging bow, and large expanse of square sails.
"During the mid-1800s, tea clippers raced across the oceans to deliver fresh cargo from China to London."
North American A fast-moving low-pressure weather system that sweeps southeastward from western Canada across the northern United States in winter, bringing cold winds and light snow.
"Meteorologists tracked a fast-moving clipper heading toward the Great Lakes region."
• Rhymes for clipper
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed from the verb 'clip' and the agentive suffix '-er'. The nautical sense referring to a fast sailing ship emerged in the early 19th century from the secondary meaning of 'clip' ('to move or run swiftly'), describing a vessel that 'clips' through the water at high speed.