pipe cleaner

American

noun

a short length of twisted flexible wires covered with tufted fabric, used to clean the stem of a smoker's pipe and for various handicrafts.

pipe cleaner British

noun

a short length of thin wires twisted so as to hold tiny tufts of yarn: used to clean the stem of a tobacco pipe

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pipe cleaner

First recorded in 1865–70

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.

She’s back digging into the craft bin, choosing tissue paper and pipe cleaners for her own art project.

From Literature

These include any excess pieces of paper, felt, pipe cleaner and used pieces of cardboard.

From Los Angeles Times

Using borax, water, and pipe cleaners, we made our own crystals.

From Literature

About two years after arriving in the park, P-22 appeared on trail-camera footage looking gaunt, his tail as thin as a pipe cleaner.

From Los Angeles Times

The big cat showed up on trail-camera footage looking gaunt, his tail as thin as a pipe cleaner.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023