Alternative forms

• flip flop, flipflop

Etymology

OnomatopoeicCategory:English onomatopoeias#FLIPFLOP. Most probably an imitation of the sound produced when walking in them.

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: flĭp'flŏp", IPA^(key): /ˈflɪpˌflɒp/Category:English 2-syllable words#FLIPFLOPCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FLIPFLOP
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈflɪpˌflɑp/Category:English 2-syllable words#FLIPFLOPCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FLIPFLOP

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#FLIPFLOP

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#FLIPFLOP

Noun

flip-flop (plural flip-flops)Category:English lemmas#FLIPFLOPCategory:English nouns#FLIPFLOPCategory:English countable nouns#FLIPFLOPCategory:English multiword terms#FLIPFLOPCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FLIPFLOPCategory:Pages with entries#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Pages with 3 entries#FLIP-FLOP

1. (USCategory:American English#FLIPFLOP, UKCategory:British English#FLIPFLOP, FijiCategory:Fijian English#FLIPFLOP) A sandal consisting of a rubber sole fastened to the foot by a rubber thong fitting between the toes and around the sides of the foot. [from 20th c.]
   • 30 August 2004, The New Yorker, , page 38

     the necessity for yet another place at which to buy a polo shirt or a pair of flip-flops may not be apparent to the town's residents —

2. A change of places; an inversion or swap.
   • 1964, Scholastic Coach, volume 34, page 18:

     On the break for strong left, everything remains the same, except for the flip-flop of positions.

     Category:English terms with quotations#FLIPFLOP

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
   1. (USCategory:American English#FLIPFLOP) An instance of flip-flopping, of repeatedly changing one's stated opinion about a matter. [from 19th c.]
   • 2020 April 8, David Clough, “How the West Coast wiring war was won”, in Rail, page 61:

     BR's flip-flop attitude towards the two options can be observed in comments made by the BR chairman in September 1967, which were interpreted as meaning that the facts now have to be "adjusted" to prove the electrification case.

     Category:English terms with quotations#FLIPFLOP

3. (computingCategory:en:Computing#FLIPFLOP, electronicsCategory:en:Electronics#FLIPFLOP) A bistable; an electronic switching circuit that has either two stable states (switching between them in response to a trigger) or a stable and an unstable state (switching from one to the other and back again in response to a trigger), and which is thereby capable of serving as one bit of memory. [from 20th c.]
   • 2012, George Dyson, Turing's Cathedral, Penguin, published 2013, page 72:

     Ten two-state flip-flops […] were formed into ten-stage ring counters representing each decimal digit in the ten-digit accumulators […]

     Category:English terms with quotations#FLIPFLOP

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
4. The sound of a regular footfall.
5. A somersault. [from 19th c.]
6. (USCategory:American English#FLIPFLOP, slangCategory:English slang#FLIPFLOP, truck driving) A return trip.
   • 1975, “Convoy”, in C.W. McCall, Chip Davis (lyrics), Black Bear Road, performed by C. W. McCall:

     We'll catch you on the flip-flop. This here's the Rubber Duck on the side. We gone, 'bye, 'bye.

     Category:English terms with quotations#FLIPFLOP

7. (slangCategory:English slang#FLIPFLOP, derogatoryCategory:English derogatory terms#FLIPFLOP, offensiveCategory:English offensive terms#FLIPFLOP) A person or inhabitant of the Middle East, or a Muslim nation, particularly Afghanistan.

Verb

flip-flop (third-person singular simple present flip-flops, present participle flip-flopping, simple past and past participle flip-flopped)Category:English lemmas#FLIPFLOPCategory:English verbs#FLIPFLOPCategory:English multiword terms#FLIPFLOPCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FLIPFLOPCategory:Pages with entries#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Pages with 3 entries#FLIP-FLOP

1. (idiomaticCategory:English idioms#FLIPFLOP, transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#FLIPFLOP, intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#FLIPFLOP) To alternate back and forth between directly opposite opinions, ideas, or decisions.

   Synonyms: U-turn, vacillate

Further reading

• Flip-flop (electronics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Flip-flop (footwear) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Flip-flop (programming) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• flip flop

Etymology

From EnglishCategory:Finnish terms borrowed from English#FLIPFLOPCategory:Finnish terms derived from English#FLIPFLOP flip-flop.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈflipˌflop/, [ˈflipˌflo̞p]Category:Finnish 2-syllable words#FLIPFLOPCategory:Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation#FLIPFLOP
• Rhymes: -opCategory:Rhymes:Finnish/op#FLIPFLOPCategory:Rhymes:Finnish/op/2 syllables#FLIPFLOP
• Syllabification^(key): flip‧flop
• Hyphenation^(key): flip‧flop

Noun

flip-flopCategory:Finnish lemmas#FLIPFLOPCategory:Finnish nouns#FLIPFLOPCategory:Finnish entries with incorrect language header#FLIPFLOPCategory:Pages with entries#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Pages with 3 entries#FLIP-FLOP

1. (Anglicism) flip-flop (footwear)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Portuguese terms borrowed from English#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Portuguese unadapted borrowings from English#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Portuguese terms derived from English#FLIP-FLOP flip-flop.

Pronunciation

Noun

flip-flop m (plural flip-flops)Category:Portuguese lemmas#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Portuguese nouns#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Portuguese multiword terms#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Pages with entries#FLIP-FLOPCategory:Pages with 3 entries#FLIP-FLOP

1. (electronicsCategory:pt:Electronics#FLIP-FLOP) flip-flop (electronic circuit able to switch between two states)

Further reading

• “flip-flop”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026