Library / English Dictionary

CLIP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: clipped    , clipping   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A sharp slanting blow

Example:

he gave me a clip on the ear

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("clip" is a kind of...):

blow (a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of clipping or snipping

Synonyms:

clip; clipping; snip

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("clip" is a kind of...):

cut; cutting; cutting off (the act of shortening something by chopping off the ends)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "clip"):

nip; pinch (a small sharp bite or snip)

Derivation:

clip (cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of)

clip (sever or remove by pinching or snipping)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A metal frame or container holding cartridges; can be inserted into an automatic gun

Synonyms:

cartridge clip; cartridge holder; clip; magazine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("clip" is a kind of...):

supply chamber (a mechanical device for holding something and supplying it as needed)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "clip"):

pincurl clip (a variety of clip for holding pin curls)

Holonyms ("clip" is a part of...):

gun (a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Any of various small fasteners used to hold loose articles together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("clip" is a kind of...):

fastener; fastening; fixing; holdfast (restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "clip"):

bicycle clip; trouser clip (a clip worn around a cyclist's ankles that keeps trousers from becoming caught in the bicycle chain)

alligator clip; bulldog clip (a clip with a spring that closes the metal jaws)

hair slide (a decorative hinged clip that girls and women put in their hair to hold it in place)

gem clip; paper clip; paperclip (a wire or plastic clip for holding sheets of paper together)

Derivation:

clip (attach with a clip)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An article of jewelry that can be clipped onto a hat or dress

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("clip" is a kind of...):

jewellery; jewelry (an adornment (as a bracelet or ring or necklace) made of precious metals and set with gems (or imitation gems))

Sense 6

Meaning:

An instance or single occasion for some event

Example:

he could do ten at a clip

Synonyms:

clip; time

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("clip" is a kind of...):

case; example; instance (an occurrence of something)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Terminate or abbreviate before its intended or proper end or its full extent

Example:

Personal freedom is curtailed in many countries

Synonyms:

clip; curtail; cut short

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "clip" is one way to...):

shorten (make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of

Example:

dress the plants in the garden

Synonyms:

clip; crop; cut back; dress; lop; prune; snip; trim

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "clip" is one way to...):

thin out (make sparse)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "clip"):

shear (cut with shears)

poll; pollard (convert into a pollard)

pinch; top (cut the top off)

disbud (thin out buds to improve the quality of the remaining flowers)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

clip (the act of clipping or snipping)

clipper (shears for cutting grass or shrubbery (often used in the plural))

clipping (cutting down to the desired size or shape)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Attach with a clip

Example:

clip the papers together

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "clip" is one way to...):

attach (cause to be attached)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Antonym:

unclip (remove the clip from)

Derivation:

clip (any of various small fasteners used to hold loose articles together)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Sever or remove by pinching or snipping

Example:

nip off the flowers

Synonyms:

clip; nip; nip off; snip; snip off

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "clip" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

clip (the act of clipping or snipping)

clipper (scissors for cutting hair or finger nails (often used in the plural))

clipper (shears for cutting grass or shrubbery (often used in the plural))

clipping (the act of clipping or snipping)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Run at a moderately swift pace

Synonyms:

clip; jog; trot

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "clip" is one way to...):

run (move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

"Unless you clip 'm in warm weather!"

(White Fang, by Jack London)

She talked away all the time the man clipped, and diverted my mind nicely.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

There was no warning, only a leap in like a flash, a metallic clip of teeth, a leap out equally swift, and Curly’s face was ripped open from eye to jaw.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

A/2017 U1 came from the direction of the constellation Lyra, cruising through interstellar space at a brisk clip of 15.8 miles (25.5 kilometers) per second.

(Small Asteroid or Comet 'Visits' from Beyond the Solar System, NASA)

To prevent it: • Keep your feet clean, dry, and cool • Wear clean socks • Don't walk barefoot in public areas • Wear flip-flops in locker room showers • Keep your toenails clean and clipped short

(Athlete's Foot, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Then, they inserted the wire — which is as long as a pinky finger and as thick as a paper clip — into a vein near the pig's ear, according to the study. (This vein in pigs is similar to the veins in a human's arm.) When the magnetized tumor cells floated past the wire, they stuck to it.

(Magnetic Wires May Soon Be Used in Your Veins to Detect Cancer Earlier, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

You won’t have the frustrations of delays and postponements that you had last month, for Mercury was retrograde, but he will go direct on March 9, allowing life to move at a faster clip by mid-month.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

You will find that the clips are too wide for your nose, showing that the lady’s nose was very broad at the base.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“May have its comb clipped if it make over-much noise,” broke in an Englishman.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He nodded, then added, “Or he wouldn’t be keepin’ up such a clip.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)