plural flippers
1
a
: a broad flat limb (as of a seal or cetacean) adapted for swimming
b
: a flat shoe (as of rubber or silicone) with the front expanded into a paddle that is used to aid movement through water (as in snorkeling or scuba diving)
called also fin, swim fin
2
: someone or something that flips or is used in flipping
spatulas and pancake flippers
pinball flippers
He worked as a burger flipper.
A flipper is a person who changes TV channels just to see what else is on.—
Springfield (Massachusetts) Morning Union
Springfield (Massachusetts) Morning UnionHe also interviews house "flippers" who buy cheap property with an eye toward making some inexpensive improvements to spruce it up and then quickly "flipping" it, or reselling it at a value-added price for a tidy profit.—James Prichard
James PrichardExamples of flipper in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The gear was wrapped around the pectoral flipper and across the whale’s back through the mouth area, and multiple rescue missions were unsuccessful, the post said.
—Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 17 Oct. 2025
The longtime home-flipper, who was renowned in interior design circles for her sophisticated taste, had even written a book about the home, called The House that Pinterest Built.
—Michelle Tauber, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
Score our favorite new finds, including a brilliantly fun garlic peeler, a thoughtful batter dispenser for pancakes, baked goods, and more, and a genius two-in-one flipper spatula.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 8 Oct. 2025
This species, dating back 9 million years, helps fill a gap in the fossil record and marks a point when ancient right whales began to develop robust flippers.
—Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flipper
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Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 17 Oct. 2025
The longtime home-flipper, who was renowned in interior design circles for her sophisticated taste, had even written a book about the home, called The House that Pinterest Built.
—Michelle Tauber, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
Score our favorite new finds, including a brilliantly fun garlic peeler, a thoughtful batter dispenser for pancakes, baked goods, and more, and a genius two-in-one flipper spatula.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 8 Oct. 2025
This species, dating back 9 million years, helps fill a gap in the fossil record and marks a point when ancient right whales began to develop robust flippers.
—Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flipper
Cite this Entry
“Flipper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flipper. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
flipper
noun
flip·per
ˈflip-ər 
1
: a broad flat limb (as of a seal or whale) used for swimming
2
: a flat rubber shoe with the front widened into a paddle for use in skin diving
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