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

In real-world speak, Gen-Z are watch flippers who are willing to go into debt to get their next horological dose. —Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 24 Apr. 2024

Over the next year and a half, Kelsey kept pressing for more information while Richardson-Merrell cast her as a chiding paper pusher and, in Europe, babies came out with flippers and heart defects. —Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024

The adorable penguin flaps its flippers and dances, bobbing from side to side. —Maya Polton, Parents, 29 Mar. 2024

Eustace also had a shorter tail than many other mosasaurs, and flippers with less cartilage and more bone. —Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2023

Because of this, some Cybertruck owners have been able to turn a big profit on rare early-production examples (Tesla has threatened to blacklist flippers in an attempt to quell the market). —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 2 Apr. 2024

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

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