See Also: clip-on(dictionary)
clip art(dictionary)
clip(4)(dictionary)
clip(3)(dictionary)
clip(2)(dictionary)
clip(1)(dictionary)
Clip(health)
clip(medicine)
clip forceps(medicine)
clip-clop(dictionary)

clip(4) (iou)



clip verb2. Infl. -pp-. Pa. t. & pple clipped, (arch.) clipt. ME.
[Old Norse klippa, prob. imit.: cf. Low German, Frisian klippen.]
verb trans. Cut or trim with scissors or shears; take away (part of the hair, wool, etc.) with scissors or shears (foll. by off). ME.
clip the wings of trim the feathers of (a bird) so as to disable from flight; fig. check the aspirations of, prevent (a person) from acting.
W. Gass She'd be clipping the hedge. W. Boyd A neatly clipped pencil moustache. fig.: P. G. Wodehouse How your grandfather clipped six seconds off Roger Bannister's mile.
b. Form or mark by so cutting or trimming. L17.
P. Pearce Each alcove and archway clipped in the yew-trees.
spec.
a. verb trans. & intrans. Shear (sheep); cut off (a sheep's fleece etc.); cut off (a person's hair), poll. ME.
b. verb trans. & intrans. Pare the edges of (coinage). LME.
c. verb trans. Cut out (an article, coupon, etc.) from a newspaper etc. Chiefly N. Amer. L19.
d. verb trans. Remove a small piece of (a railway, bus, etc., ticket) to show that it has been used. L19.
e. verb trans. Computing. Process (an image) so as to remove the parts outside a certain area. M20.
verb trans. & (now dial.) intrans. Cut short, diminish; spec. pronounce hurriedly and imperfectly or in a staccato fashion, omit (letters or syllables) from words. E16.
Carlyle Pfalz must be reinstated, though with territories much clipped. D. Cusack A habit of clipping her sentences till they resemble explosive bullets rather than conversation. I. Murdoch He had given her clipped answers, minimizing everything.
verb intrans.
a. Move the wings rapidly, fly rapidly. arch. E17.
b. Move or run quickly. US colloq. M19.
verb trans. Hit smartly; strike against in passing. colloq. M19.
New Statesman He had 'clipped him round the earhole'. Daily Express Tony definitely had to snatch up the filly to avoid clipping the winner's heels.
verb trans. Swindle; rob, steal. slang (orig. US). E20.
Comb.: clip art (a) pre-printed illustrations designed to be cut out and used in artwork; (b) Computing pre-drawn pictures and symbols that computer users can add to their documents, often provided with word-processing software and drawing packages; clip-joint slang a nightclub etc. charging exorbitant prices.