zipper
/ˈzɪpɚ/noun, verb
zipper is spelled Z-I-P-P-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, zipper means “A zip fastener” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of zipper is zippers.
How many letters and syllables are in zipper?
| Letters | 6: Z-I-P-P-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,589th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is zipper?
Zipper appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce zipper?
- US /ˈzɪpɚ/
- UK /ˈzɪpə(ɹ)/
Zipper has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-zipper.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-NaomiAmethyst-zipper.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with zipper?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as zipper from its last stressed vowel (/ɪpəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of zipper
- zippers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- zippering participle, present
- zippered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does zipper mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
AustraliaUSA zip fastener.
He got his T-shirt stuck in the zipper of his jacket.
- 2
A pressure-sensitive plastic closure, as on a Ziploc bag.
- 3
A leucine zipper.
- 4
slangA scar on a person's body.
- 5
USdatedslangAn air patrol carried out at dawn or dusk.
- 6
A string of clothes pegs or clips attached to the body and then quickly pulled off.
- 7
A technique for arbitrarily traversing an aggregate data structure and updating its contents. See zipper (data structure).
- 8
A zipline.
verb
- 1
To close a zipper.
He zippered his sweater against the cold.
- 2
To put a zipper on an article.
These fall jackets are zippered.
- 3
To act in a manner similar to a zipper closing; to interleave.
If more drivers knew how to zipper, the accident would not have disrupted traffic so much.
- 4
To unzipper.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does zipper come from?
1925, zip + -er. The trade name was registered in 1925 by B.F. Goodrich for “boots made of rubber and fabric,” claiming use of the name since June 1923. No longer a registered trademark.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).