whippersnapper

whip·per·snap·per | \ ˈ(h)wi-pər-ˌsna-pər

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Definition of whippersnapper

: a diminutive, insignificant, or presumptuous person

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Examples of whippersnapper in a Sentence

some young whippersnapper piped up with a pointless comment

Recent Examples on the Web From its inception up until 2014 or 2015, the Ars virtual office was plain-jane IRC—that's Internet Relay Chat for you whippersnappers. — Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, "The tools and tricks that let Ars Technica function without a physical office," 28 Jan. 2020 Even then, millennials will be protecting scraps left behind by boomers from a new generation of young whippersnappers looking for a fair share of the 2040 American pie. Stuart Gray St. Augustine, Fla. — WSJ, "Bernie, Boomers and Earnest Young Socialists," 24 Jan. 2020 The new series, created by original writers Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman, alters the script – in which five kids were orphaned – and instead makes its quintet of whippersnappers fend for themselves after their parents are deported to Mexico. — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, "Review: A deportation-focused ‘Party of Five’ remake is timely but shallow," 8 Jan. 2020 Trains make all these cars look like whippersnappers; fellow Hall member Lionel Trains dates all the way back to 1900. — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, "The 3 Toys That Made This Year's Toy Hall of Fame Class," 12 Nov. 2019 The day is fast approaching when Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka will be chasing these whippersnappers at majors, not leading the way. — Tad Reeve, Twin Cities, "Tad Reeve: The future of golf breaks out at the 3M Open," 6 July 2019 Brees, meanwhile, will try to keep up with the 24-year-old whippersnapper from the Los Angeles Rams: Jared Goff. — Jason Gay, WSJ, "Tom Brady & Drew Brees: Beware the Zombie Geezers!," 14 Jan. 2019 Would this shirtless whippersnapper rob Timothée of his title? — Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, "How Did Timothée Chalamet Spend 2018? We’re So Glad You Asked," 10 Dec. 2018 For a relative whippersnapper (he’s 38), Reihan Salam has been writing about the relationship between the Republican Party’s policy agenda and its electoral coalition for a long time. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "No, Democratic Populism Won’t Force GOP To Accept Big Government," 1 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'whippersnapper.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

8 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Whippersnapper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whippersnapper. Accessed 28 Mar. 2020.

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