# slipper

Pronunciation: US say "SLIP-ur" /ˈslɪpəɹ/; UK/AUS say "SLIP-uh" /ˈslɪpə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A low, soft shoe meant to be worn indoors, such as a bedroom or house slipper.
   - Simple: A soft, comfortable shoe you wear inside the house.
   - _He shuffled to the kitchen in his old leather slippers._
   - _A sheepskin slipper keeps your foot warm on cold floors._
2. A low, soft shoe designed to be slipped on and off the foot with ease.
   - Simple: A soft shoe that is easy to put on and take off.
   - _These slippers slide onto the foot with a single motion._
   - _A good slipper requires no buckles or laces to stay on._
3. A flat rubber sandal held on by a strap that passes between the first two toes; a flip-flop. *(dialectal, Hawaii, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, US)*
   - Simple: A rubber sandal that you hold on with a strap between your toes.
   - _Her rubber slippers slapped against her heels as she crossed the hot sand to the water._
   - _He grabbed a slipper from the porch before heading to the sand._
4. A form of corporal punishment in which the buttocks are struck repeatedly with a plimsoll.
   - Simple: A punishment where someone is hit on the bottom with a soft gym shoe.
   - _Older students still remember getting the slipper for talking in class._
   - _The principal reserved the slipper for serious misbehavior._
6. A piece, usually a plate, fitted to a sliding component to take up wear and permit adjustment; also called a gib.
   - Simple: A flat metal piece on a sliding machine part that takes the wear and can be adjusted.
   - _Engineers shimmed the slipper to keep the carriage running true._
   - _When the slipper wears down, the moving plate begins to chatter._
7. A type of brake or shoe placed against a wagon wheel to slow or hold it.
   - Simple: A block that presses on a wagon wheel to slow it down.
   - _On steep descents the carter set the slipper under the rear wheel._
   - _The slipper scraped against the iron rim, checking the wagon's speed._
8. A urinal resembling a bedpan, shaped somewhat like a slipper, for use by patients confined to bed.
   - Simple: A toilet pan shaped a bit like a shoe, used by people who must stay in bed.
   - _The orderly emptied and rinsed the slipper after the morning round._
   - _A ceramic slipper let the bedbound patient relieve himself without rising._
9. The plimsoll or gym shoe used as the instrument of corporal punishment by striking the buttocks.
   - Simple: The soft gym shoe used to hit someone on the bottom as a punishment.
   - _The master took down the slipper that hung by the blackboard._
   - _A worn rubber slipper served as the favored instrument of discipline._
10. A person or creature that loses footing and slips.
   - Simple: A person or animal that slips or slides.
   - _The new colt was a real slipper on wet grass._
   - _As a frequent slipper on slick floors, she always wore rubber soles._
11. A kind of apron or pinafore worn by children to protect their clothing.
   - Simple: A child's apron worn over clothes to keep them clean.
   - _She fastened a starched slipper around the little girl before the meal._
   - _Each child was handed a slipper to tie on over their clothes before the messy craft lesson._

## Verb

5. To spank on the buttocks with a plimsoll as a form of corporal punishment. *(Australia, New Zealand, UK)*
   - Simple: To hit someone on the bottom with a soft gym shoe as a punishment.
   - _The headmaster threatened to slipper any boy caught smoking behind the sheds._
   - _Masters in those days would slipper pupils for the smallest offense._

## Adjective

12. Slippery; smooth or wet enough to cause slipping. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Smooth so that things slide easily.
   - _The deck grew slipper with sea-spray, and the sailors trod with care._
   - _He cursed the slipper cobblestones as his horse stumbled._

## Origin

From Middle English slypper, formed from slip plus the suffix -er.

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