dipper

plural dippers

1. One who, or that which, dips (immerses something, or itself, into a liquid).

   A chocolate dipper dips the cream centers into warm chocolate by hand; when taken out the creams are shaped [...]

   1903, Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900, page 1189

   1 more example

   When the engine runs the dipper dips in the oil once in every revolution of the crankshaft and the oil is splashed on the cylinder walls.

   2001, Thermal Engineering, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, →ISBN, page 472

2. Any of various small passerine birds of the genus Cinclus that live near fast-flowing streams and feed along the bottom.
3. A cup-shaped vessel with a long handle, for dipping into and ladling out liquids; a ladle or scoop.
4. IndiaUKThe control in a vehicle that switches between high-beam and low-beam (i.e. dips the lights), especially when used to signal other vehicles.
5. Any snack food intended to be dipped in sauce.

   chicken dippers

6. Someone who dips chewing tobacco or snuff.
7. slangA pickpocket.

   It is doubtful if the Victorian Londoner needed any warning, for the artful mobsmen, toolers, whizzers and dippers, together with their stickman accomplices, were everywhere in the crowds, in the underground, on railway trains […]

   1976, Michael Harrison, Beyond Baker Street: A Sherlockian Anthology, page 117

   Synonyms: pickpocket

8. historicalA person employed in a tin plate works to coat steel plates in molten tin by dipping them.
9. historicalA person employed to assist a bather in and out of the sea.
10. historicalinformalChristianityA Baptist or Dunker.
11. ball gamesA delivery bowled that curves into or away from the batter before pitching.
12. IndiaNorthSouth Asiaderogatoryoffensiveslangan Indian-born immigrant residing in Western countries, often born in the 1990s or later

plural Dippers

1. Either the Big Dipper or the Little Dipper (in the singular, chiefly the Big Dipper).

   Use the Dipper as home base. Follow the two end stars of its bowl to point downward (in the spring) or upward (in the fall) to Polaris, the North Star.

   2003, Bob Berman, Strange Universe: The Weird and Wild Science of Everyday Life – on Earth and Beyond, New York: Times Books, →ISBN, page 152

   3 more examples

   In the Big Dipper, or Ursa Major, there are two stars which form the side of the dipper farthest from the handle. The line of these two [...] will strike the Pole Star. [...] A convenient sort of celestial yardstick is the distance from the first pointer of the Dipper to the Pole Star, which is about 28°.

   1912, Carroll Davidson Wright, The New Century Book of Facts: A Handbook of Ready Reference ..., page 599

   You can see the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper almost every night. You can see the Dippers every night if the clouds do not cover them. The Dippers seem to move. They are not always in the same place. You see the Dippers in one place […]

   1959, Grade 2. Singer science all the year

   It's always a challenge in the city, but sometimes I can spot the Dippers. On camping trips Drew used to show me constellations but I've forgotten most of them. She pointed out the North Star at the end of the Little Dipper's handle […]

   2005, Cordelia Strube, Lemon, Coach House Books, →ISBN, page 146

1. astronomyA Chinese constellation located near Sagittarius, one of the 28 lunar mansions and part of the larger Black Turtle.

1. CanadianinformalgovernmentA member or supporter of the Canadian New Democratic Party.

   But the Dippers should hold their applause, since their party doesn't have the grassroots organization or the roster of good candidates it needs to capitalize on their leader's popularity.

   2011 April 11, Lysiane Gagnon, “In Quebec, the NDP Is No. 2”, in The Globe and Mail, Toronto, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2011

   1 more example

   This also (of course) comes on the heels of the four Conservative MPs who decided they didn’t like the direction and leadership of their party and drifted across the aisle. A Dipper joined them.

   2026 April 14, Garth Turner, “Three, nothing”, in The Greater Fool, Toronto, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2026

   Synonyms: NDPer, New Democrat

comparative more Dipper · superlative most Dipper

1. CanadianattributiveinformalgovernmentOf or pertaining to the Canadian New Democratic Party or supporters thereof.

   It's either that or watch Dipper hopes of big overall seat gains dashed May 2 in Ontario.

   2011 April 27, David Olive, “Historic Shift to NDP Confirmed in New Poll”, in Toronto Star, archived from the original on 28 Jun 2013