How to use flipper in a sentence

19 example sentences · noun, verb

Flipper means in marine mammals such as whales (or other secondarily aquatic animals such as sea turtles), a wide, flat limb adapted for swimming. Example: “Flippers and hands are homologous structures.”

Examples of flipper by meaning

nounA flat lever in a pinball machine, triggered by the player to strike the ball and keep it in play.

Later iterations had mechanical flippers like today's, but more of them—six, which were distributed three on each side up and down the body of the machine.2012 February 24, Rebecca J. Rosen, “The Glory of the Pinball Machine”, in The Atlantic

nounA small flat used to support a larger one.

The flipper is designed to give support by standing at a 90-degree angle to the flat.1998, Martin Harrison, The Language of Theatre, page 104
When standing alone, a flat may have a small extension, a FLIPPER, for added strength.2013, Jonathan Law, The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre

nounA kind of false tooth, usually temporary.

Woo attempts to distinguish Blakeslee by pointing out that “one can fondle a breast without having anything to do with dentistry, but one cannot take molds, fabricate and insert flippers into another person's mouth without practicing dentistry."2005, Washington Appellate Reports, volume 128

nounA kitchen spatula.

You always had to use the “flipper” to turn the pancakes and eggs.2009, Amy J. Yowell, The Silent Cry, page 161

nounSomeone who flips, in the sense of buying a house or other asset and selling it quickly for profit.

Two notable examples of Zombie Formalism would be the electroplated silver monochromes of Jacob Kassay (b. 1984) and the “Rain Paintings” of Lucien Smith (b. 1989), both recent favorites of the art flippers.2014 April 3, Walter Robinson, “Flipping and the Rise of Zombie Formalism”, in Artspace, archived from the original on 02 Oct 2015

More sentences with flipper

Flippers and hands are homologous structures.From the entry homologous
The flippers also have an adjustment menu to alter the strength.2005, Kevin Strasser, The PinBotz Guide to the Greatest Pinball Machines of the 80s And 90s. From the entry unshopped
Happy Days had nine gobble holes, but no outlanes or gap between the flippers.1997, Gary Flower, Bill Kurtz, Pinball: the lure of the silver ball. From the entry gobble hole
When a ball finally drains, it's gulped down by a giant gator beneath the set of flippers.1990, Steven A. Schwartz, Compute's Nintendo Secrets. From the entry drain
“Now one side or flipper off — I gotta go to work.”1952, Cyril M. Kornbluth, Make Mine Mars. From the entry one side
He slapped the flippers, racking up points, the feeling of invincibility swelling as he pulled off a perfect death save.2013, Tom Mendicino, KC, at Bat. From the entry death save
The sauropterygians had streamlined bodies and their limbs were more or less modified to function as paddles or flippers.2012, Winand Brinkmann, Kenneth De Baets, editors, Paleontological Museum of the University of Zürich: Exhibition Guide, Paleontological…. From the entry sauropterygian
Most Aboriginal drawings show the Bunyip with a tail like a horse, and flippers and tusks like a walrus.2008, Oliver Ho, Mysteries Unwrapped: Mutants & Monsters, page 26. From the entry bunyip
Its flippers windmilled in the air uselessly.2005, Gideon Defoe, The Pirates!: in an adventure with Ahab, page 140. From the entry windmill
Then ponderously, with its whole body rocking from side to side, it lifted one flipper into the air in an exaggerated mimelike movement.2005, Jonathan Turk, In the wake of the Jomon: stone age mariners and a voyage across the Pacific. From the entry mimelike
Pinball Magic is a lightning fast game and has flippers that have a better feel than any game made before or since.2005, Kevin Strasser, The PinBotz Guide to the Greatest Pinball Machines of the 80s And 90s. From the entry unshopped
As soon as they see me scurrying around picking up snorkels and flippers they know the Big Wet is on its way.1981, Les Tanner, Nature's a Nice Place to Visit, from Tanner With Words, 1981. Quoted in Aussie Humour, Macmillan, 1988, page 93. From the entry Hughie
The long neck was far outstretched, and the four flippers with which it swam were working with powerful strokes, carrying it forward at a rapid pace.1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp.…. From the entry bear down on

Meaning of flipper

noun In marine mammals such as whales (or other secondarily aquatic animals such as sea turtles), a wide, flat limb adapted for swimming.
noun A wide, flat, paddle-like rubber covering for the foot, used in swimming.
noun A flat lever in a pinball machine, triggered by the player to strike the ball and keep it in play.

Full definition of flipper

Questions about flipper in a sentence

How do you use flipper in a sentence?: Flipper is used as a noun and verb. For example: “Flippers and hands are homologous structures.”
What is a short sentence with flipper?: “Flippers and hands are homologous structures.”
What does flipper mean?: Flipper means in marine mammals such as whales (or other secondarily aquatic animals such as sea turtles), a wide, flat limb adapted for swimming.

Adapted from Wiktionary: flipper (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use flipper in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/flipper. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.