flipper

[ flip-er ]

noun

1. a broad, flat limb, as of a seal or whale, especially adapted for swimming.
2. Also called fin. one of a pair of paddlelike devices, usually of rubber, worn on the feet as an aid in scuba diving and swimming.
3. Theater. a narrow flat hinged or attached at right angles to a larger flat.
4. Slang. the hand.
5. someone or something that flips.

flipper

/ ˈflɪpə /

noun

1. the flat broad limb of seals, whales, penguins, and other aquatic animals, specialized for swimming
2. Also calledfin often plural either of a pair of rubber paddle-like devices worn on the feet as an aid in swimming, esp underwater
3. cricket a ball bowled with backspin imparted by the action of the bowler's wrist

flipper

/ flĭp′ər /

1. A wide, flat limb adapted for swimming, found on aquatic animals such as whales, seals, and sea turtles. Flippers evolved from legs.

Word History and Origins

Origin of flipper¹

First recorded in 1815–25; flip ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The development of a claw or a flipper requires many particular different genes.

From Salon

She was always more of a flipper than a twister, and Dennis sometimes landed on her neck from over-rotating her warm-up drills.

From Los Angeles Times

"The flick of that of that flipper really shows how adaptable, how creative, these animals can be," said Dr Ari Friedlaender from the University of California Santa Cruz.

From BBC

Woodward said that although that critter was probably 841 — the behavior seemed entirely in line — he was unable to provide a 100% positive identification; he couldn’t see the hallmark blue tag affixed to her left flipper after being born in and then released from captivity.

From Los Angeles Times

The investigation is continuing, but preliminary results — broken bones in the whale’s right flipper; tissue trauma along its right shoulder blade; a full stomach and decent layer of blubber — all pointed toward the animal having been in otherwise good health when it was likely struck and killed by the ship, said Robert A. DiGiovanni, the chief scientist of the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, which is leading the investigation.

From New York Times

Related Words

• branch
• rod
• wing