clipping
noun
Simple meaning
A process of word formation involving shortening by removal of syllables, often terminal ones.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
klipingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈklɪpɪŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
uncountablelinguistics
A process of word formation involving shortening by removal of syllables, often terminal ones.
An excerpt cut from a newspaper or magazine
“He searched through piles of letters and clippings.”
countablelinguistics
A short form (of a longer word) created by removing syllables, often terminal ones.
countablejournalism
An article clipped from a newspaper (especially) or from a magazine.
The act by which something is clipped (in any sense).
countable
A piece of something removed by clipping.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A process of word formation involving shortening by removal of syllables, often terminal ones.
Used this way, clipping is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a grammar or language-study use: it describes how language works, so it appears in teaching and reference writing.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- press clipping , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use clipping
- “He searched through piles of letters and clippings.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A nonlinear electronic circuit whose output is limited in amplitude.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An excerpt cut from a newspaper or magazine.
An excerpt cut from a newspaper or magazine.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: word formation involving shortening by removal of syllables
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.