slipper

1 of 2

adjective

slip·​per ˈsli-pər 

chiefly dialectal

: slippery

slipper

2 of 2

noun

: a light low-cut shoe that is easily slipped on the foot

slippered

ˈsli-pərd 

adjective

Examples of slipper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Another snap showed Tove's whole outfit laid out — her slippers, a knit jumper with a bunny face stitched onto it, and a matching knit hat. —Kayla Grant, People.com, 11 May 2025

The savings also include home decor and accessories like Kule terry slippers and a silk eye mask. —Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 16 Apr. 2025

From the Sweet 16 on, there were no teams from small conferences and, so, no glass slippers left in a tournament that was losing its soul. —Eddie Pells, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2025

The Smithsonian, the vast complex of museums that millions of Americans visit every year to see Lincoln’s top hat, the Spirit of St. Louis, Harriet Tubman’s shawl, a moon rock, and Dorothy’s ruby slippers, is at the center of the executive order’s indignation. —David Remnick, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English slipir, sliper "causing something to slide or slip, deceitful," going back to Old English slipor, sliper, going back to Germanic *slip-ra- (whence also Old High German sleffar "sloping downward"), adjective derivative from the base of Germanic *sleipan- (strong verb) "to slide, slip" (whence Middle Dutch slīpen "to smooth, polish, sharpen," Middle Low German, "to glide, sink, slip," Old High German slīfan "to slide, pass away, decline"), of uncertain origin

Note: The adjective slipper has been effectively replaced by its derivative slippery, though the former was in existence in dialect late enough to be noticed by the Survey of English Dialects, which recorded it in Devon and Cornwall (see Survey of English Dialects: The Dictionary and Grammar, Routledge, 1994, s.v.). — The Germanic verb has been compared with Greek olibrón, glossed by Hesychius with olisthērón "slippery," though the assumption of an Indo-European etymon *h₃slib-ro-, with both *b and a laryngeal preceding a sibilant, seems questionable. Parallel to *sleipan- is a verb *sleupan- "to creep, glide," which has been explained as a secondary formation based on near-synonymous *sleuban- (see slip entry 5, sleeve). As all these bases are ultimately of phonesthemic origin and can presumably be reshaped by variation of phonesthemic origin, it is difficult to disentangle inheritance from innovation. Compare slip entry 1.

Noun

Middle English slypper, from slippen "to slip entry 1" + -er -er entry 2

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing slipper

• carpet slipper
• lady's slipper
• slipper chair

Rhymes for slipper

• chipper
• clipper
• dipper
• flipper
• gripper
• kipper
• nipper
• ripper
• shipper
• skipper
• stripper
• tipper

Kids Definition

slipper

noun

slip·​per

ˈslip-ər

: a light low shoe without laces that is easily slipped on or off

slippered

-ərd

adjective