paper clip
1 Americannoun
-
a flat wire or plastic clip shaped so that it can hold sheets of paper between two of its loops.
-
a spring clamp for holding papers.
verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of paper clip1
First recorded in 1870–75
Origin of paper-clip2
First recorded in 1960–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s as preposterous as—and far more dangerous than—a state rejecting the dollar and accepting only bitcoin, guilders or paper clips as its currency.
The crows brought him silver buttons and paper clips, and coins which he dug holes in and strung onto a shoelace and wore round his neck.
From Literature
“What is all that? It looks like paper clips!”
From Literature
My college applications—each in its bulky envelope, larded with paper clips, staples and whiteout—had to be postmarked by noon.
Even Woo has a paper clip pinning his tiny nostrils together.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
