# flip-flop

Pronunciation: say "FLIP-flop" US /ˈflɪpˌflɑp/, UK /ˈflɪpˌflɒp/

## Noun

1. A sandal with a flat rubber sole held on by a thong that passes between the toes and around the sides of the foot.
   - Simple: A light open shoe held on by a strap that fits between your big toe and the next one.
   - _He bought a cheap pair of flip-flops for the beach vacation._
   - _Each flip-flop had worn thin after a whole summer of daily use._
3. A reversal of opinion, especially one of several made by a public figure who repeatedly changes a stated position. *(US)*
   - Simple: A change of mind in which someone keeps switching back to the opposite view.
   - _The governor's flip-flop on the pipeline dominated the evening news._
   - _Reporters traced each flip-flop he had made since taking office._
4. A switch in which two things trade positions; an inversion or swap.
   - Simple: A swap that puts two things into each other's places.
   - _The schedule did a flip-flop, moving the morning class to the evening slot._
   - _A surprise flip-flop sent the front-runner to the back of the line._
5. An acrobatic somersault in which the body turns heels over head.
   - Simple: A jump in which you turn your whole body over, heels over head.
   - _The acrobat sprang into a flip-flop and landed squarely on the mat._
   - _She practiced the flip-flop for weeks before adding it to her floor routine._
6. The slapping sound made by a steady, regular footfall.
   - Simple: The slapping sound of feet hitting the floor in a steady rhythm.
   - _A faint flip-flop announced the nurse's approach long before she appeared._
   - _The flip-flop of wet feet trailed across the locker-room tiles._
7. An electronic switching circuit with two stable states, used to store one bit of information by holding whichever state a trigger sets.
   - Simple: A small electronic part that stays in one of two states and can hold a single bit of information.
   - _Engineers wired several flip-flops together to build a small memory register._
   - _A clock pulse tells the flip-flop when to change state._
8. A round trip out to a destination and back, especially one made by a long-haul truck driver. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: A trip out to a place and straight back to where you started.
   - _He squeezed in a flip-flop to the warehouse before his hours ran out._
   - _The dispatcher scheduled a flip-flop to the port and back the same day._
9. A highly offensive slur for a person from the Middle East or a Muslim country, especially Afghanistan. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A very rude and hurtful word for a person from the Middle East or a Muslim country.
   - _He was thrown out of the bar for calling the waiter a flip-flop._
   - _The report documented soldiers dehumanizing villagers by branding them flip-flops._

## Verb

2. To swing repeatedly back and forth between directly opposite opinions, ideas, or decisions.
   - Simple: To keep changing your mind back and forth between two opposite choices.
   - _The committee flip-flopped its recommendation after pressure from both sides._
   - _He tends to flip-flop whenever new polls come out._

## Origin

Onomatopoeic: most probably an imitation of the sound made when walking in them.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/flip-flop (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).