What does clipart mean?
Clipart refers to collections of ready-made images, illustrations, or graphic elements that users can insert into documents, presentations, newsletters, and other media to enhance visual appeal. The word combines "clip," meaning to cut out or attach, with "art," reflecting its origins in physical images that were literally clipped from books or sheets and pasted into layouts. With the rise of desktop publishing and word processing software in the late twentieth century, clipart became widely available in digital form, often bundled with office applications or sold on CD-ROMs. Typically simple, stylized, and generic in style, clipart is valued for convenience rather than artistic originality. Today the term carries a slightly nostalgic connotation, as modern designers tend to favour stock photography, vector graphics, or custom illustrations, yet clipart remains a familiar and useful resource in everyday communication, especially in educational and informal settings.
nounClipart refers to ready-made images, illustrations, or graphics that can be inserted into documents, presentations, or other digital projects. It is typically treated as a mass (uncountable) noun, though it can occasionally be used attributively as a modifier.
- Ready-made digital images or illustrations used to decorate or illustrate documents, presentations, websites, and other media.
"She brightened up the school newsletter with a cheerful piece of clipart of a smiling sun."
"The teacher encouraged her students to add some clipart to their book reports to make them more visually appealing."
"He downloaded a free clipart image of a coffee cup to use on the flyer."
Rarely used; "clipart" is normally uncountable. When a plural form is needed, "pieces of clipart" or "clipart images" is preferred over "cliparts," though "clip-arts" occasionally appears in technical contexts.
"The archive contains hundreds of cliparts organised by theme."
Before emoji and stock photos, there was clipart — the little boxy images that let anyone make their documents look designed without hiring an artist.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of clipart
The word "clipart" is a compound of "clip" and "art," first appearing in English in the mid-twentieth century. Its origin lies in traditional publishing practice, where illustrations were physically cut or "clipped" from printed sheets and pasted into page layouts before being photographed for reproduction. As computing advanced, the practice moved into the digital realm, and software companies began bundling libraries of these images with word processors and desktop publishing programs, cementing "clipart" as the standard term for such graphics.
Related word forms
How clipart is actually used
"Clipart" is usually uncountable and takes singular verbs when it functions as the subject (e.g., "the clipart looks great"). When referring to individual pieces, speakers commonly say "a piece of clipart" or "an item of clipart." In modern usage the word can sound slightly dated, evoking the era of Microsoft Office's bundled image galleries; "graphic," "image," "icon," or "vector art" are often preferred in contemporary design contexts.
Easily confused with clipart
A clipboard is a temporary storage area in computing for holding copied data, whereas clipart consists of pre-made graphic images used to decorate documents.
A stock photo is a professional photograph licensed for use, while clipart is typically a simple illustration or graphic often distributed freely.