# flipper

Pronunciation: US say "FLIP-er" /ˈflɪpɚ/; UK/AUS say "FLIP-uh" /ˈflɪpə/

## Noun

1. A wide, flat limb adapted for swimming, found in marine mammals such as whales and in other aquatic animals such as sea turtles.
   - Simple: A wide, flat arm or leg that sea animals like whales and sea turtles use to swim.
   - _The dolphin steered with its flippers as it turned toward the boat._
   - _Researchers attached a small tracking tag to the turtle's left flipper._
2. A wide, flat rubber covering shaped like a paddle, worn on the foot for swimming.
   - Simple: A wide, flat rubber shoe shaped like a paddle that you wear on your foot to swim.
   - _Snorkelers can rent masks and flippers at the dock._
   - _The diver tightened the strap on her left flipper before rolling backward off the boat._
3. A flat lever in a pinball machine that the player triggers to strike the ball and keep it in play.
   - Simple: A small flat bar in a pinball machine that the player moves to hit the ball and keep it in play.
   - _He timed the flipper perfectly and sent the ball shooting up the ramp._
   - _Some pinball tables add a third flipper halfway up the playfield._
4. A person who buys a house or another asset and sells it again quickly for a profit.
   - Simple: A person who buys a house or other thing and sells it again quickly to make money.
   - _Galleries now screen buyers to keep flippers from reselling a young painter's work at auction within months._
   - _The flipper bought the bungalow in March, repainted it, and sold it for a tidy profit by June._
5. A kitchen spatula, such as the one used to turn pancakes and eggs in a pan.
   - Simple: A flat kitchen tool, like the one you use to turn pancakes or eggs.
   - _She slid the flipper under the pancake and turned it in one quick motion._
   - _The grill set came with tongs, a fork, and a long metal flipper for burgers._
6. A handheld remote control for a television. *(colloquial, US)*
   - Simple: A TV remote, the small device you hold to change channels.
   - _He grabbed the flipper and muted the commercials._
   - _We spent twenty minutes hunting for the flipper before finding it in the fridge._
7. A person who flips in any other sense of the verb, such as someone who tosses a coin.
   - Simple: A person who flips, for example someone who tosses a coin.
   - _He worked two summers as a burger flipper at a beach diner._
   - _Whoever was the flipper tossed the coin, and the other player called it in the air._
8. In cricket, a delivery from a leg-spin bowler that spins backward and skids off the pitch with a low bounce.
   - Simple: In cricket, a ball from a leg-spin bowler that spins backward and stays low after it bounces.
   - _The leg-spinner saved his flipper for the final over and trapped the batter in front of the stumps._
   - _A well-disguised flipper skids through so low that the batter barely gets the bat down in time._
10. In stage scenery, a small flat used to support a larger one.
   - Simple: In a theater, a small panel of scenery that helps hold up a bigger one.
   - _The carpenter hinged a flipper to the edge of the flat so it could stand on its own._
   - _Between scenes, the crew swung the flippers in and rolled the whole wall offstage._
11. A type of false tooth, usually one worn only for a short time.
   - Simple: A false tooth that people usually wear for a short time.
   - _She wore a flipper for three months while her implant healed._
   - _The dentist took molds of his mouth to make a flipper for the gap in his smile._

## Verb

9. To raise one or both flippers out of the water and slap them down against the surface.
   - Simple: To lift one or both flippers out of the water and hit the water with them.
   - _Humpbacks sometimes roll onto their sides and flipper at the surface, sending up loud splashes._
   - _The guide pointed out a calf that had been flippering beside its mother for most of the morning._

## Noun

12. A person's hand. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A hand, the part at the end of your arm.
   - _The old sailor stuck out his flipper and pumped my hand like a well handle._
   - _Keep your flippers off the cookies until after dinner._

## Origin

Formed from flip + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Flappert, meaning “flipper, wing”.

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