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

Ropes wrapped around whales’ bodies, flippers or tails can cut into the animals’ skin and become deeply embedded in their flesh, as happened to whale #5120. —Joshua Reed, The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2024

Unfortunately for the flipper, bidding on their 70-mile Cybertruck quickly slowed down, with day two only seeing the highest bid rise to $133,000. —Collin Woodard / Jalopnik, Quartz, 23 Mar. 2024

Ariel the cocker spaniel was named after the star of The Little Mermaid because her extra appendages looked like a flipper. —Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2024

Sea lions are able to walk on land with their flippers. —Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 29 Feb. 2024

Many were uncommitted watch flippers and wannabe ballers who have now begun to drop off waiting lists like lemmings, which means there are more opportunities to acquire pieces for those of us who actually love horology to play. —Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 20 Feb. 2024

To see a dugong is to want to hug a dugong, with its round body, gently curved flippers and gigantic smiling face. —Danna Staaf, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024

The Millennial couple are not flippers nor investors. —The Indianapolis Star, 29 Jan. 2024

In one corner was a transparent plastic tube loaded with circuitry, attached to two white plastic flippers. —Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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