What does clipper mean?
A clipper is primarily a cutting tool — typically a pair of pivoted blades operated by hand — used for trimming nails, hair, hedges, or other small materials; in this sense it almost always appears in the plural form 'clippers,' even for a single implement. The word also names a celebrated class of fast sailing merchant ships developed in the United States and Britain during the mid-nineteenth century. With sharp, streamlined hulls and an unusually large spread of canvas, clippers were built purely for speed, famously racing to bring fresh tea from China to London and carrying prospectors to California during the gold rush. The most famous survivor, Cutty Sark, is preserved at Greenwich. Derived from the verb 'to clip,' meaning to cut or shear, the word carries connotations of efficiency and swiftness, surviving today both on bathroom shelves and in maritime history.
A cutting tool with two blades, used for trimming nails, hair, hedges, or similar materials.
"He rummaged through the drawer for his toenail clippers."
Usually used in the plural form 'clippers' even for a single tool.
A fast sailing merchant ship of the mid-nineteenth century, characterized by sharp bows, a narrow beam, and a large sail area.
"Tea clippers competed fiercely to be the first to reach London each season."
The plural is standard for the cutting-tool sense even when referring to one implement ('a pair of clippers'). For the ship sense, 'clippers' is simply the normal plural of 'clipper.'
"The museum displays models of several famous clippers from the tea trade."
In the 1850s, tea clippers raced each other from China to London, and the first ship home could command a fortune — the most famous, Cutty Sark, still survives in dry dock at Greenwich.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of clipper
Clipper derives from the English verb 'clip,' meaning to cut or shear, which traces back to Old Norse 'klippa' (to cut). The agentive form 'clipper' — one who or that which clips — appeared by the late eighteenth century for cutting tools. In the early nineteenth century, American shipbuilders applied the term to fast vessels that 'clipped' time off voyages, and the name stuck as the great tea and gold-rush clippers rose to prominence in the 1840s and 1850s.
Related word forms
How clipper is actually used
As a cutting tool, 'clipper' is usually plural in form ('clippers') even when referring to a single implement. The sailing-ship sense is largely historical but remains familiar through preserved ships like Cutty Sark and phrases like 'at a fair clip.'
Easily confused with clipper
A clapper is the swinging part inside a bell that strikes it, whereas a clipper is either a cutting tool or a fast sailing ship.