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clip-on

American  
[klip-on, -awn] / ˈklɪpˌɒn, -ˌɔn /

adjective

  1. designed to be clipped on easily, especially by a self-attached clip.

    a clip-on bow tie.

noun

  1. a clip-on device, ornament, or the like.

clip on British  

verb

  1. (tr) to attach by means of a clip

  2. (intr) to be attached by means of a clip

    this clips on here
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. designed to be attached by means of a clip

    a clip-on bow tie
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

plural noun

  1. sunglasses designed to be clipped on to a person's spectacles

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of clip-on

First recorded in 1905–10; adj., noun use of verb phrase clip on

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It was a clip-on MP3 player without a screen for just $49.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

In a recent conversation on LinkedIn by some TV professionals, one poured scorn on young people on TikTok and YouTube for "not knowing" how to use clip-on mics.

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2025

The helmets, provided at cost by Tacoma wholesaler Helmets R Us, are foam padded and aerodynamic, with a clip-on visor.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2024

Some storage baskets have built-in labels, but you can also buy clip-on basket labels for just a few dollars.

From Salon • Aug. 6, 2022

If this was not enough, they wore clip-on earbobs of various colored rhinestones and circles of rouge on their brown cheeks.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.