flipper

noun

flip·​per ˈfli-pər 

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

He 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

Examples of flipper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This model worked for well over a decade because, in those go-go speculative days, there was an ongoing influx of gullible retail investors eager to prop up the token flippers. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 July 2026

On this day, four guests — clad in masks, snorkels, flippers, and dressed in all black to reduce the risk of being confused for a fish by the sharks — clung onto a safety line and watched as the silky sharks encircled them. — Kate Waxman, Sun Sentinel, 19 July 2026

The knife also runs on a KVT ceramic ball-bearing system with a flipper tab for opening. — New Atlas, 9 July 2026

Saba will move on to the next deal, like a house flipper. — Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for flipper

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

Kids 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