skipper

1 of 3

noun (1)

skip·​per ˈski-pər 

1

: any of various erratically active insects (such as a click beetle or a water strider)

2

: one that skips

3

: saury

4

: any of a superfamily (Hesperioidea, especially family Hesperiidae) of lepidopterous insects that visibly differ from the typical butterflies especially in having stout bodies, smaller wings, and usually hooked antennae

skipper

2 of 3

noun (2)

1

: the master of a ship

especially : the master of a fishing, small trading, or pleasure boat

2

: the captain or first pilot of an airplane

3

: a person in a position of leadership

especially : a baseball team's manager

skipper

3 of 3

verb

skip·​per

skippered; skippering ˈski-p(ə-)riŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to act as skipper of (a boat or ship)

2

: to act as the principal coach or manager of

skipper a team

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• captain
• commander

Examples of skipper in a Sentence

Noun (2)

we asked the skipper how long it would be before we reached port

Verb

The boat was skippered by a skilled veteran sailor.

He skippered the team to their latest World Series win.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The extent to which anybody else is aware of the time-loop is ambiguous; the ship’s skipper is an elderly man with no memory of his name, and at times it’s implied that the town has deliberately trapped these men. —Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025

As the skipper in New York from 1984-1990, Johnson led the Mets to an iconic seven-game series win against the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, after the team won a staggering 108 games in the regular season. —Thomas Schlachter, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025

Verb

On a sunny, summer Sunday morning, perfect for being on the water, David Trotter, skippered his 32-foot boat, the Obsession Too, to a nearly 112-year-old shipwreck only a handful of people knew was there. —Frank Witsil, Freep.com, 25 Aug. 2025

Farrell junior was called up as an injury replacement early in the tour and will skipper the side from inside centre at Dockland's Stadium in his 20th match for the Lions. —Nick Mulvenney, Reuters, 21 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Middle Dutch schipper, from schip ship; akin to Old English scip ship — more at ship

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1893, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for skipper

• chipper
• clipper
• dipper
• flipper
• gripper
• kipper
• nipper
• ripper
• shipper
• slipper
• stripper
• tipper

Kids Definition

skipper

1 of 2 noun

skip·​per ˈskip-ər 

1

: one that skips

2

: any of various insects that differ from the related butterflies especially in having stout bodies, smaller wings, and usually antennae with curved ends

skipper

2 of 2 noun

: the master of a ship

especially : the master of a fishing, small trading, or pleasure boat

Etymology

Noun

skip (verb) and -er (noun suffix)

Noun

Middle English skipper "the master of a ship," from early Dutch schipper (same meaning), from schip "ship"