flip-flop
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A backless sandal held to the foot by a thong between the big toe and the second toe.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
flipflahpSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈflɪpflɑp
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
USUKFiji
A backless sandal held to the foot by a thong between the big toe and the second toe
USUKFiji
A sandal consisting of a rubber sole fastened to the foot by a rubber thong fitting between the toes and around the sides of the foot.
us
An instance of flip-flopping, of repeatedly changing one's stated opinion about a matter.
A change of places; an inversion or swap.
The sound of a regular footfall.
A somersault.
verb
idiomatictransitiveintransitive
To alternate back and forth between directly opposite opinions, ideas, or decisions.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A backless sandal held to the foot by a thong between the big toe and the second toe
Used this way, flip-flop is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- switch , more casual, better suited to speech than writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.