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clip2

Pronunciation: /klɪp/
Translate clip | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of clip

verb (clips, clipping, clipped)

[with object]
  • 1cut short or trim (hair, vegetation, etc.) with shears or scissors:I was clipping the hedge
  • trim or remove the hair or wool of (an animal): we explain how to clip your horse
  • (clip something off) cut off a thing or part of a thing with shears or scissors:Philip clipped off another piece of wire figurativeshe clipped nearly two seconds off the world record
  • cut (a section) from a newspaper or periodical:a photograph clipped from a magazine
  • illicitly pare the edge of (a coin): they clipped the edges of gold coins and melted the clippings down
  • British remove a small piece of (a bus or train ticket) to show that it has been used.
  • Computing process (an image) so as to remove the parts outside a certain area: once the video image is captured, it can be panned, clipped, and zoomed
  • Electronics truncate the amplitude of (a signal) above or below predetermined levels: once the amplifier has boosted the signal it is clipped to provide a digital pulse
  • 2British strike smartly or with a glancing blow:the car clipped the kerb he’ll clip your ear
  • 3 informal, chiefly North American swindle or rob:in all the years he ran the place, he was clipped only three times
  • 4 [no object, with adverbial of direction] informal, chiefly US move quickly:we clip down the track

noun

  • 1an act of clipping or trimming something:I gave him a full clip
  • the quantity of wool clipped from a sheep or flock: a local agent will arrange for the clip to be sold at auction selection favoured a heavy wool clip
  • 2a short sequence taken from a film or broadcast:clips from earlier shows a film clip
  • 3British informal a smart or glancing blow:I’d give him a clip round the ear
  • 4 [in singular] informal a specified speed or rate of movement, especially when rapid:we crossed the dance floor at an amazingly fast clip

Phrases

at a clip

US informal at a time; all at once:I spent several days with him, eight hours at a clip

clip the wings of

trim the feathers of (a bird) so as to disable it from flight.
prevent (someone) from acting freely; check the aspirations of:he finally clipped the wings of his high-flying chief of staff

Origin:

Middle English: from Old Norse klippa, probably imitative

clip in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of clip in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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