✂️ A cutting tool ⛵ A fast ship 🔌 A signal limiter

clipper

2 8.0

An electronic device that cuts the top of a signal so it cannot go above a fixed level

noun
/ˈklɪpər/

Specialized

: circuito limitador

Between the two mirrors on the wall, an inventory of instruments, clippers, scissors, pivots, razors, and a hair dryer hung askew.
Europa Clipper
Clipper mission

Examples

The audio engineer adjusted the clipper settings to prevent distortion in the sound.
Pliers and clippers rewire a circuit breaker, short out the P.A. system, and electrify doors and windows.

Fiction book (1996)
AC Transit offers bus passes to youth through Clipper cards at $20 a month for an unlimited number of local rides.

Blog text (3)
Then she sets the clippers down and wraps the exposed end of the electrical wire, no longer hot because I've done my job, in heavy black tape.

Fiction book (1993)
In designing the new amplifier, the team included a clipper circuit to maintain audio quality.
To ensure the signal remained clear, the technician installed a clipper to limit the amplitude.

Synonyms

limiter

vsclipper

Specialized

4 6.5

A device that stops something from going above a set level, for example sound or speed

is a specific electronic circuit that limits signal peaks by cutting waveform tops

Compounds

clipper ship

Archaic

5 7.0

A large fast sailing ship with tall masts used for long sea journeys

How Clipped

clipper

Specialized

2 8.0

limiter

Specialized

4 6.5

clean

45 3.6

Surface Forms

clipper singular

clippers plural

Morphology

clipper = clip (semi-transparent) = clip + er

The word 'clipper' is derived from 'clip' with the suffix '-er', indicating an agent noun. However, the specific meaning related to electronic circuits is not immediately obvious from the base word.

Etymology

Clipper in electronics comes from the verb clip meaning 'to cut off'. A clipper circuit 'cuts off' the top of a signal so the output cannot go above a set level, and that is why it has this name.