clipper

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"clipper" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“clipper” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,723. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,723
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Anything or anyone that clips.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clipper · clipper · English

clipper · rank #26,723 · 9 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,723
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Clemens

Nearest frequency peer: Clemens (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “clipper”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “clipper” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

clipper vs copper
71% similar
clipper vs clippers
88% similar
clipper vs cipher
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for clipper
PropertyValue
Headwordclipper
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#26,723
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “clipper”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).clipperlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Clemens” (#26,722), “cleanser” (#26,721), “clouded” (#26,725). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “clipper” is #26,723. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around clipper, anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,723 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for clipper, with forms such as "cclipper", "cilpper", and "clipepr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "copper", "clippers", "cipher", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clipper, equivalent to clip (“cut, shorten”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). The type of sailing ship is probably also from clip, in the sense of “move or run rapidly”. Perhaps influenced by Middle Dutch klepper (“swift horse”), from… The correct English form is clipper, spelled C-L-I-P-P-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Anything or anyone that clips.
  2. 2
    A tool used for clipping something, such as hair, coins, or fingernails.
  3. 3
    Something that moves swiftly; especially:
  4. 4
    Something that moves swiftly; especially:
  5. 5
    An Asian butterfly of species Parthenos sylvia, family Nymphalidae.
  6. 6
    A circuit which prevents the amplitude of a wave from exceeding a set value.
  7. 7
    A person who mutilates coins by fraudulently paring the edges.
  8. 8
    A confidence trickster; a conman.
  9. 9
    Anything showy or first-rate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how clipper appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Yes, perhaps I’d better begin there, at the moment when I […] asked a question carelessly enough of one of the locals, who was clipping a hedge in a desultory fashion nearby. […] When I passed my hedge clipper again, he said, […]
  2. And those were the days of clippers, and the freights were clipper-freights,

Etymology

From Middle English clipper, equivalent to clip (“cut, shorten”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). The type of sailing ship is probably also from clip, in the sense of “move or run rapidly”. Perhaps influenced by Middle Dutch klepper (“swift horse”), from kleppen (“to clap”), which is onomatopoeic.

This word in other languages

clipper(Français)Klipper(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cclipper
  • cilpper
  • clipepr
  • cliper
  • clipperr
  • clippre
  • cllipper
  • clpiper
  • lcipper

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of clipper - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cclipper1cilpper2clipepr2cliper1clipperr1clippre2cllipper1clpiper2
Edit distance from "clipper"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "clipper"?
"clipper" is spelled C-L-I-P-P-E-R.
What does "clipper" mean?
As a noun, "clipper" means: Anything or anyone that clips.
What words are commonly confused with "clipper"?
"clipper" is commonly confused with "copper", "clippers", "cipher". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "clipper"?
From Middle English clipper, equivalent to clip (“cut, shorten”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). The type of sailing ship is probably also from clip, in the sense of “move or run rapidly”. Perhaps influenced by Middle Dutch klepper (“swift hor... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "clipper", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Clemens#26,722clouded#26,725curving#26,743deviate#26,751

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

chimes9 variantschalet9 variantsBorussia9 variantsdecked9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list