clipper

\kli.pe\

/\kli.pe\/ verb

The verdict

“clipper” is uncommon French (frequency #51,963 among 8,609 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,963
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Fixer par un clip.

Corpus desk

Index FR-clipper · clipper · French

clipper · rank #51,963 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,963
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH CLI

Nearest frequency peer: CLI (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « clipper »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « clipper » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for clipper
PropertyValue
Headwordclipper
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\kli.pe\
Letters7
Frequency rank#51,963
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « clipper » en français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.clippertombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « CLI » (#51,962), « cloués » (#51,964), « ciments » (#51,961). Parmi 8,609 lemmes en « C », « clipper » est au #51,963. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

clipper is uncommon French at frequency #51,963 among 8,609 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \kli.pe\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for clipper, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is clipper, spelled C-L-I-P-P-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Fixer par un clip.
  2. 2
    Fixer par un clip.
  3. 3
    Couper une aile de la reine, pour éviter qu’elle s’en aille.
  4. 4
    Tourner un clip vidéo afin de promouvoir une chanson.

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. Pour clipper (on dit également rogner ou écourter) une reine, il faut la maintenir fermement par le thorax entre le pouce et l'index, et couper une seule des ailes à la moitié de sa longueur, avec une paire de petits ciseaux bien aiguisés.
  2. Il y a 20 ans, clipper un titre était l’occasion d’aller chercher un passage en télé, et donc d’exploser en termes de visibilité.

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 French 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. The IPA pronunciation is \kli.pe\.
What does "clipper" mean?
As a verb, "clipper" means: Fixer par un clip.
How do you pronounce "clipper"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "clipper" is \kli.pe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "clipper" come from?
"clipper" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list