zipper
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A fastener for locking together two toothed edges using a sliding tab.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ziperSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈzɪpɚ
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
A fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab
A pressure-sensitive plastic closure, as on a Ziploc bag.
chiefly USAustralia
A zip fastener.
A zipline.
verb
To close a zipper.
To put a zipper on an article.
To act in a manner similar to a zipper closing; to interleave.
To unzipper.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab
Used this way, zipper 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.
More ways to use zipper
- “She struggled to pull up the sticky zipper on her jacket before going outside.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: to close a zipper
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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.