Meaning & use
clippings
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“clippings” is a form of “clipping”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Small pieces cut off something, especially bits of paper, hair, or a plant.
Grammar: Almost always plural; use the singular 'clipping' for one single piece.
Patterns
- clippings from something
- a pile of clippings
- grass clippings
She swept the grass clippings off the path after mowing the lawn.
He keeps a box of newspaper clippings about his old school team.
The hairdresser brushed the clippings off my neck with a soft brush.
nounplural
Pieces cut from newspapers or magazines and kept as a record of something.
Grammar: Often used with 'press' or 'newspaper': press clippings.
Patterns
- press clippings
- newspaper clippings
- keep clippings
The actor's agent sent him a folder of press clippings after the film opened.
She pasted her clippings into a scrapbook to show her grandchildren.
Journalists collect clippings to check how a story has been reported over the years.
Word forms
| singular | clipping |
|---|
Common combinations
- grass clippings
- Put the grass clippings in the compost bin.
- newspaper clippings
- The museum keeps newspaper clippings from the day the bridge opened.
- nail clippings
- He left nail clippings all over the bathroom floor.
- hedge clippings
- We burned the hedge clippings in the garden.
- press clippings
- Her press clippings filled two thick folders.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cuttings
- Very close in meaning, but 'cuttings' is more common for pieces cut from plants, especially for growing new ones.
- offcuts
- Used for leftover pieces of wood, cloth, or metal rather than paper or grass.
- scraps
- Suggests small, useless leftover bits of food or material; 'clippings' sounds tidier and more specific.
Word family
Commonly confused: clippings or clips? clippings or clippings?
clippings vs clips
'Clips' are the small fasteners that hold papers together; 'clippings' are the cut-off pieces themselves.
clippings vs clippings
Also spelled the same but not to be confused with 'clippings' meaning video excerpts, which are usually called 'clips'.
Practice
After mowing the lawn, Dad put the ___ into a bag for the compost.
Choose one answer.
'Clippings' is the plural noun for pieces cut off plants, and it fits 'the ___' with a plural verb. 'Clips' means fasteners, 'clippers' are tools, and 'clipping' would need 'a' before it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “clippings”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.