I. ˈklip verb
( clipped ; clipped ; clipping ; clips )
Etymology: Middle English clippen, from Old English clyppan; akin to Old High German klāftra fathom, Old Norse klafi yoke, Latin galla gall on a tree, gleba clod, globus globe, Lith. globti to embrace — more at gall
transitive verb
1.
a. now dialect Britain : embrace , hug
b. : to encircle closely : encompass
a belt clipped her waist
2.
a. : to hold in a tight grip : clutch
b. : to clasp or fasten with a clip
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English clipp, from clippen to clip (embrace)
: any of a number of devices which grip, clasp, or hook or with which one grips, clasps, or hooks: as
a. : grappling iron
b. : an encircling often metal strap for connecting parts (as the metal strap of a whiffletree)
c. : the upward projection at the extreme front or at the side of a horseshoe over the margin of the hoof
d. : a holder or container (as for letters, bills, or music) consisting wholly or partly of a metal spring clamp
e. : a device to hold cartridges for charging the magazines of some rifles ; also : a magazine from which ammunition is fed into the chamber of a firearm
f. : a device for confining the bottom of a trouser leg used especially when riding a bicycle without a chain guard
g. : a device used to arrest bleeding from vessels or tissues during operations
h. : a wire resembling and applied like a staple and used to hold together wound margins or tissues or structures separated or opened during operations
i. : a metal device to connect up angle and T irons to rolled beams without drilling or bolting
j. : a clamplike wire or cable terminal for temporary electrical connections
k. : a piece of jewelry (as a pin or an earring) that is held in position by a spring clip
III. verb
( clipped ; clipped also clipt ; clipping ; clips )
Etymology: Middle English clippen, from Old Norse klippa
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cut or cut off with or as if with shears
clip a string in two
clip the wool of a sheep
clip her hair close
clip an hour off traveling time
b. : to cut off the margins, ends, or a small portion of : pare , trim
clip rosebushes
clip a coin
clip a bird's wings
: cut or snip off a part of the hair or surface growth of : shear
clip a sheep
: mow
clip a lawn
c.
(1) : excise
clip imperfect passages from the recording
(2) : to cut items out of (as a newspaper)
clipped a week's papers
(3) : to cut out of especially a publication
d. of a radio or television circuit : reject
clip the instantaneous signals above or below a predetermined amplitude or frequency
2.
a. : curtail , diminish
clipping his power or authority
worked to clip the senator's influence
b. : to abbreviate (as a word or a customary sequence of sounds) in speech or writing in some way (as ad for advertisement, ˈnesəsri for ˈnesəˌseri)
the clipped “n'kyou” of the bus conductors and the ticket collectors — Richard Joseph
clipped dialogue — D.M.Friedenberg
to most unsophisticated users of the language “a short circuit” has nothing to do with either “short” or “circuit” (except insofar as the phrase itself has been clipped to a “a short”) — D.L.Bolinger
c. : reduce
appliance stores … were clipping prices for people with ready cash — Newsweek
the company clipped his wages two dollars a week
3.
a. slang : to hit especially with a short sharp blow
clipped him with a left hook — Ernest Hemingway
both got clipped by drunk drivers — Pasadena (Calif.) Independent
b. : to block (an opposing football player other than the ballcarrier) illegally by hitting with the body from behind
4. : to take money from unfairly or dishonestly especially by charging exorbitant prices or by deception
the nightclub clipped the diner for $23
clip a patient by excessive charges for surgery
5. : to touch or go very close to especially in moving past
the bearings should just clip the shaft — John Southward
clip the edge of the cliff as closely as possible — F.W.Booth
intransitive verb
1. : to clip something
remove a portion of it by clipping
the record was made by a good deal of clipping
2.
a. archaic : to move the wings swiftly : fly swiftly
some falcon … clips it down the wind — John Dryden
b. : to travel or pass rapidly
a rock clipped through the air — Max Steele
the half hour clipped along with pace and movement — Goodman Ace
3. : to block an opposing football player from behind
•
- clip one's wings
IV. noun
( -s )
1.
a. clips plural , Scotland : shears
b. : a 2-bladed instrument for cutting especially the nails
a wire clip
2. : something that is clipped: as
a. : a clipping especially from a newspaper
b. : the product of a single shearing (as of sheep)
c. : a season's crop of wool of a sheep, a flock, or a region
d. : a section of filmed material (as a stock shot or a portion of a newsreel) ; especially : a fragment of film deleted during the editing of a motion picture
3. : an act of clipping : cutting , shearing
4. : a sharp blow especially with the fist
hit someone a clip on the jaw
5. : a rapid gait or pace
the train was snaking along at a brisk clip — Robert Shaplen
6. : time : a single instance or occasion
he charged $10 a clip
— often used in the phrase at a clip
to train 1000 workers at a clip