To cut off with shears or scissors; to separate by a sudden stroke; especially to cut off the ends or sides of a thing, to make it shorter or narrower, in distinction from shaving and paring, which are performed by rubbing the instrument close to the thing shaved; as, to clip the hair; to clip wings. But love had clipped his wings and cut him short.

To diminish coin by paring the edge.

To curtail; to cut short.

To confine, limit, restrain, or hold; to hug. To clip it, is a vulgar phrase in New England for to run with speed. So cut issued; cut on, run fast. This seems to be the meaning in Dryden. Some falcon stoops at what her eye designed,/ . And with her eagerness the quarry missed, Straight flies at check, and clips it down the wind. This sense would seem to be allied to that of leap.

A blow or stroke with the hand; as, he hit him a clip.

An embrace; that is, a throwing the arms round.