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
• skip

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

Bayesian’s skipper, James Cutfield, told the overnight watchkeepers to wake him if the wind speed increased above 23 mph or if the boat started dragging anchor, the report said. —Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 15 May 2025

By this time, the wind had reached 30 knots, or about 34 miles per hour, and the ship was beginning to lean to one side — and the deckhand ran to wake the skipper, which happened around 4 a.m. —Greta Bjornson, People.com, 15 May 2025

Verb

Two-time Olympic sailing champion Martine Grael joined for the 2024-25 season to skipper the new Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team, making history and immediately climbing the leaderboard. —Harriet Taylor, CNBC, 19 Mar. 2025

As a manager, Torborg skippered five teams: Cleveland (1975-79), the Chicago White Sox (1989-91), the Mets (1992-93), the Montreal Expos (2001) and the Florida Marlins (2002-03). —David Faris, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 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"