Meaning & use
clipping
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Meanings
nouncountable
a small piece cut off from something, especially a newspaper or magazine article.
Grammar: Countable: one clipping, two clippings. Often used in the plural for a collection.
Patterns
- a clipping from something
- newspaper clippings
- keep clippings
She saved a clipping from the local paper about the event.
The floor was covered with clippings after he cut his hair.
He showed me a clipping of his first published article.
noununcountabletechnical
the process or result of cutting a word short, such as 'phone' from 'telephone'.
Grammar: Uncountable when referring to the linguistic process; countable when referring to a specific shortened form.
Patterns
- clipping of something
- a clipping
The word 'fridge' is a clipping of 'refrigerator'.
'Ad' is a common clipping of 'advertisement'.
Linguists study clipping as a way new words are formed.
nouncountable or uncountable
the act of cutting something with scissors or a machine, or the piece that is cut off.
Grammar: Often used in the plural 'clippings' for the pieces cut off.
Patterns
- hedge clippings
- nail clippings
- grass clippings
He swept up the grass clippings after mowing the lawn.
The gardener collected the hedge clippings for compost.
She trimmed her nails and threw the clippings in the bin.
Word forms
| plural | clippings |
|---|
Common combinations
- newspaper clipping
- He kept a newspaper clipping about his graduation.
- grass clippings
- The grass clippings can be used as mulch.
- nail clippings
- She cleaned the nail clippings from the table.
- clipping of a word
- 'Exam' is a clipping of 'examination'.
- hedge clippings
- The hedge clippings filled two large bags.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cutting
- A 'cutting' is a piece cut from a plant to grow a new one, or a piece cut from something; it is more common in gardening, while 'clipping' is more general for small pieces.
- shortening
- In linguistics, 'shortening' is a broader term that includes clipping and other ways of making words shorter; 'clipping' is one specific type.
Word family
Commonly confused: clipping or clipping?
clipping vs clipping
Do not confuse with 'clipping' as in 'clipping a coupon' (cutting it out) versus 'clipping' as a noun meaning the piece cut out.
Practice
In the sentence 'The word 'phone' is a clipping of 'telephone'', what does 'clipping' mean?
Choose one answer.
In linguistics, 'clipping' refers to shortening a word. Options 0, 1, and 3 refer to other meanings of 'clipping' or to the verb 'clip', which do not fit this context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “clipping”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.