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Glite Dictionary
to clip it

to clip it

1 7.9
To cut out a part of something like a video, or to tell someone to be quiet
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : cortar
  • As a group, decide which is the most important story and clip it out.

I've got a sprig of kale here, clip it at the base.

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Examples

  • And my pineapple, which is sprawling out and I need to clip it back because it's starting to fight with the other plants.

  • So you know, for instance, if I take this and I want to make it into a nice little curl, we'll just clip it right here and then apply some heat.

  • The first thing I did with it was to turn to the word 'impossible' and neatly clip it out of the book.

    Blog text (25)

  • I've got a sprig of kale here, clip it at the base.

    Epic Gardening

  • My eyes have gotten worse lately, but I think it's because my hair covers one of my eyes (how emo), so I clip it back now.

    Blog text (16)

  • Monty grabs the leash off the back of the apartment door and clips it to Doyle's collar.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Please clip it to just the interesting parts of the interview so we can share it online.

  • When editing the video, remember to clip it if it gets too long.

  • During the meeting, the manager asked everyone to clip it so they could stay on schedule.

Synonyms

to cut
vsto clip it
∞ 2.3

To remove parts or make something shorter, for example text

also serves as an informal command to stop talking
to cut it
vsto clip it
  • Informal
216 7.2

Stop doing something annoying when someone tells you

also means to remove or shorten a section in media
to trim
vsto clip it
95 2.6

Cut something to make it smaller or neater

is used more broadly to delete sections or tell someone to hush
to cut out
vsto clip it
77 3.2

To remove a shape from paper or cloth using scissors

also functions as an informal way to tell someone to stop
to edit out
vsto clip it
11 3.2

Remove part of a film, recording, or text before release

also used informally to tell someone to be quiet
to cut away
vsto clip it
5 3.4

To remove a part from something with a knife or tool

is broader, also meaning to tell someone to be quiet
to trim down
vsto clip it
3 3.4

To make something smaller by cutting or removing parts

is also used to mean removing sections or asking someone to be quiet
to snip off
vsto clip it
  • Informal
2 3.7

To cut a small part off something quickly and neatly with scissors or shears

is more general and also used to order someone to be quiet
to trim back
vsto clip it
1 3.4

Make a thing smaller by cutting or removing parts

is used more widely, also for deleting sections or telling someone to stop talking

Antonyms

to add
∞ 1.0

Include something extra to make something larger or better

to expand
805 2.5

To grow larger in size, amount, or importance

How Much

to excise
  • Formal
14 7.2
to remove
∞ 1.5
to cut
∞ 1.0
to clip it
1 7.9
to trim
95 2.6

Surface Forms

clip it infinitive
clipped it past
clipped it past participle
clipping it present participle
clips it third person singular

Morphology

clip + it

The editing sense ('cut, trim, shorten it') is directly and compositionally derivable from 'clip' (to cut/trim) plus the pronoun 'it', so learners who know the words can infer that meaning in context. However, the informal imperative sense 'be quiet/stop talking' is idiomatic and not predictable from the constituents, so the expression is only partially transparent overall and requires contextual or cultural knowledge for the slang sense.

Etymology

Clip it may come from the real act of using scissors or a film cutter to cut something shorter. The verb clip gives the picture of removing a bit, so clip it came to mean 'cut out or shorten' and, by the same idea of cutting the sound, can also mean 'be quiet'.