flipper
a broad, flat limb, as of a seal or whale, especially adapted for swimming.
Also called fin. one of a pair of paddlelike devices, usually of rubber, worn on the feet as an aid in scuba diving and swimming.
Theater. a narrow flat hinged or attached at right angles to a larger flat.
Slang. the hand.
someone or something that flips.
Origin of flipper
1Words Nearby flipper
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use flipper in a sentence
“The flipper is a living object, and you never play the same game on it,” says Colin.
Paris Cafes Lose Their Pinball Machines, as Numbers Dwindle | Solène Cressant | July 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTSteel balls caromed around the table as the player massaged, tickled, pressed, and slammed the flipper buttons.
Paris Cafes Lose Their Pinball Machines, as Numbers Dwindle | Solène Cressant | July 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTOne of them realizes she is paid less as a part-time employee of PEN than she would be as a burger-flipper or a car-wash girl.
Looks like the only thing ready to come with him in this "real" moment is a fish named flipper.
We throw some pennies to another group, and the one nearest the coin picks it up by making a scoop of his flipper-like palm.
Gardens of the Caribbees, v. 1/2 | Ida May Hill Starr
I'm not sure that a seal's flipper might not be acceptable by to-morrow morning.
Left on Labrador | Charles Asbury StephensNow and again one would lazily lift a flipper to scratch itself or heave its great bulk into a more comfortable position.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas MawsonAnd with that I givd the flipper a big squaze, and a big squaze it was, by the powers, that her leddyship giv'd to me back.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe | Edgar Allan PoeOf these, Lieutenant flipper was dismissed June 30, 1882, for "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman."
British Dictionary definitions for flipper
/ (ˈflɪpə) /
the flat broad limb of seals, whales, penguins, and other aquatic animals, specialized for swimming
Also called: fin (often plural) either of a pair of rubber paddle-like devices worn on the feet as an aid in swimming, esp underwater
cricket a ball bowled with backspin imparted by the action of the bowler's wrist
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for flipper
[ flĭp′ər ]
A wide, flat limb adapted for swimming, found on aquatic animals such as whales, seals, and sea turtles. Flippers evolved from legs.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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