clipper

Everyday

1. Clippers are a tool for cutting hair, nails or hedges. tree →
2. A clipper was a fast sailing ship in the 1800s. tree →
3. A clipper can be anything that clips or holds things. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life barbers use hair clippers and people cut their nails with nail clippers. In history lessons clipper ships carried tea and wool across oceans very fast, for example from China and Australia to Britain. In safety lessons sharp clippers are used only with care. Phrases: hair clippers, nail clippers, hedge clippers, clipper ship.

Examples

• The barber used clippers to cut my hair. tree →
• Mum trimmed my nails with nail clippers. tree →
• Dad cut the hedge with clippers. tree →
• The clipper ship sailed fast across the ocean. tree →
• The Cutty Sark is a famous clipper. tree →
• Be careful, the clippers are sharp. tree →

Note

For tools it is usually plural: «clippers», «a pair of clippers», like scissors. For the ship it is singular: «a clipper». From the verb «clip» (to cut a little or to fasten).