dipper

UK: /ˈdɪpə/ US: /ˈdɪpɚ/ ,(dip′ər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

dip•per /ˈdɪpɚ/   n. [countable]

1. a person or thing that dips.
2. a cuplike container with a long handle, used for dipping.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

dip•per  (dip′ər), n. 

1. a person or thing that dips.
2. a cuplike container with a long handle, used for dipping liquids.
3. (cap.) [Astron.]
   • See Big Dipper. 
   • See Little Dipper. 
4. Birds [Ornith.] Also called water ouzel. any small, stocky diving bird of the family Cinclidae, related to the thrushes, esp. Cinclus aquaticus of Europe and C. mexicanus of western North America, having dense, oilyplumage and frequenting rapid streams and rivers.
5. Dialect Terms [South Midland and Southern U.S.] a person who uses snuff.

• 1350–1400; Middle English: diving bird; see dip, -er¹

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

dipper / ˈdɪpə/ noun

1. a ladle used for dipping
2. Also called: water ouzel any aquatic songbird of the genus Cinclus and family Cinclidae, esp C. cinclus. They inhabit fast-flowing streams and resemble large wrens
3. a slang word for pickpocket
4. a person or thing that dips, such as the mechanism for directing car headlights downwards
5. an Anabaptist

See also big dipper