clippers
clippers — noun
1. A tool, usually with two cutting parts, used to trim nails, cut hair, shape bush
A tool, usually with two cutting parts, used to trim nails, cut hair, shape bushes, or do similar small cutting jobs.
Aylin packed the nail clippers before the hiking trip.
nail clippers — common subtype for trimming nails
The barber brushed hair from the clippers between two customers.
barber's clippers — common use for cutting hair
Owen used garden clippers to trim the rose bush by the fence.
We keep the hedge clippers in the shed behind the garage.
Kabir bought a new pair of clippers for the dog's thick fur.
文法句型
a pair of clippers + singular verb
clippers + plural verb
clippers for + noun
用法筆記
Usually plural in everyday English. For one tool, many speakers say 'a pair of clippers'; without that phrase, use a plural verb, as in 'The clippers are on the sink.'
常見錯誤
2. Sailing ships from the past that were built to travel very quickly.
Sailing ships from the past that were built to travel very quickly.
By 1850, tea clippers carried fresh leaves from China to London.
tea clippers — historical trade use
Old clippers could cross the ocean faster than many larger ships.
historical plural noun with plural verb
At the museum, Mei studied models of clippers in a glass case.
Storms often damaged clippers carrying wool around the southern seas.
Historians still compare famous clippers from Boston and Liverpool.
- clipper ships
full form used when the shorter plural might be unclear
- sailing ships
broader term for ships that move by sail rather than engine
文法句型
clippers + plural verb
clippers carrying + goods
clippers from + place
用法筆記
Mostly found in history books and museum writing. When you mean one ship, the usual form is 'a clipper'; 'clippers' is used for several ships or for the class as a group.