flipper
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The flat broad limb of aquatic animals specialized for swimming.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fliperSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈflɪpɚ
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
The flat broad limb of aquatic animals specialized for swimming
In marine mammals such as whales (or other aquatic animals such as sea turtles), a wide, flat limb adapted for swimming.
A wide, flat, paddle-like rubber covering for the foot, used in swimming.
A flat lever in a pinball machine, triggered by the player to strike the ball and keep it in play.
A shoe for swimming; the paddle-like front is an aid in swimming (especially underwater)
Someone who flips in any other sense, for example throwing a coin.
verb
To lift one or both flippers out of the water and slap the surface of the water.
Word at a Glance
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The flat broad limb of aquatic animals specialized for swimming
Used this way, flipper 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
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Medium-sized greyish to yellow seal with bristles each side of muzzle.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to lift one
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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.