skipper
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The master of a ship.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
skiperSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈskɪpɚ
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
nautical
The master of a ship.
nautical
An officer who is licensed to command a merchant ship
nautical
The naval officer in command of a military ship
sports
The captain of a sports team such as football, cricket, rugby or curling.
A person who skips, or fails to attend class.
Any of several marine fishes that often leap above water, especially Cololabis saira (Pacific saury) and Sprattus sprattus (European sprat).
verb
transitive
To captain a ship or a sports team.
intransitive
To take shelter in a barn or shed.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The master of a ship.
Used this way, skipper is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a nautical use: it is standard at sea and largely unfamiliar ashore.
- 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
- Sailing/maritime
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- master , a specialist term, precise but narrower
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.