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

Another TikTok user posted a video of their partner awkwardly walking towards water while wearing flippers. —Daniel S. Levine, People.com, 13 Feb. 2025

Read More: 5 of the Most Interesting Prehistoric Marine Reptiles Precisely Preserved Preserved at the tip of the plesiosaur’s flipper are two turtle-like scales, shown above. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2025

Researchers theorize the textured flippers allowed the animal to better move along the seafloor while hunting for prey, and the smoother portions reduced drag while swimming. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 6 Feb. 2025

There are candy flippers in white Moon Boots with impressively lacquered eyelashes, and a portly man with a Gandalf beard who’s magnanimously handing out shot glasses. —Barrett Swanson, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025

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