noun
- Informal. a sudden or unexpected reversal, as of direction, belief, attitude, or policy.
- a backward somersault.
- Also called flip-flop circuit. Electronics. an electronic circuit having two stable conditions, each one corresponding to one of two alternative input signals.
- any of several similar devices having two alternative states, the change of state being caused by some input signal or by some change of input.
- the sound and motion of something flapping, as a wind-blown shutter; a banging to and fro.
- any backless, usually open-toed flat shoe or slipper.
- a flat, backless rubber sandal, usually secured on the foot by a thong between the first two toes, as for use at a beach, swimming pool, etc.Compare thong, zori.
- (in advertising) a display or presentation, usually on an easel, consisting of a series of pages hinged at the top and flipped over in sequence.
adverb
- with repeated sounds and motions, as of something flapping.
verb (used without object), flip-flopped, flip-flop·ping.
- Informal. to make a sudden or unexpected reversal, as of direction, belief, attitude, or policy: The opposition claimed that the president had flip-flopped on certain issues.
- to execute a backward somersault.
- to flap; bang to and fro: The door flip-flopped in the high wind.
noun
- a backward handspring
- Also called: bistable an electronic device or circuit that can assume either of two stable states by the application of a suitable pulse
- informal, mainly US a complete change of opinion, policy, etc
- a repeated flapping or banging noise
- Also called (US, Canadian, Austral, and NZ): thong a rubber-soled sandal attached to the foot by a thong between the big toe and the next toe
verb -flops, -flopping or -flopped (intr)
- informal, mainly US to make a complete change of opinion, policy, etc
- to move with repeated flaps
adverb
- with repeated flappingsto go flip-flop
also flip flop, “thong sandal,” by 1972, imitative of the sound of walking in them (flip-flap had been used in various echoic senses, mostly echoic, since 1520s); sense of “complete reversal of direction” dates from 1900.
Flip-flaps, a peculiar rollicking dance indulged in by costermongers, better described as the double shuffle; originally a kind of somersault. [Hotten’s Slang Dictionary, 1864]