dipper

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. One that dips, especially a container for taking up water.
2. n. One of several small birds of the genus Cinclus that dive into swift-moving streams and feed along the bottom. Also called water ouzel.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. One who or that which dips. Specifically
2. n. [capitalized] [Cf. dopper.] Same as Dunker.
3. n. In paper manufacturing, the workman who mixes the pulp and puts it upon the mold.
4. n. One who dips snuff. See to dip snuff, under dip, v. t.
5. n. A bird of the genus Cinclus or family Cinclidœ: so called because it dips, ducks, or dives under water. The common European dipper, also called water-ouzel and by many other names, is C. aquaticus, a small dark-colored bird with a white breast, of aquatic habits, inhabiting streams, and walking or flying under water with ease. The American dipper is a similar but distinct species, C. mexicanus, entirely dark-colored when adult. There are in all about 12 species of dippers, mostly inhabiting clear mountain-streams of various parts of the world. They belong to the turdiform group of oscine Passeres, in the vicinity of the thrushes, and are notable as the only thoroughly aquatic passerine birds. See cut in next column, and also cut under Cinclidœ.
6. n. Any swimming bird which dives with great ease and rapidity, as a grebe, dab-chick, or didapper; especially, in the United States, the buffle, Bucephala albeola, which is also called spirit-duck for the same reason. See cut under buffle.
7. n. A vessel of wood, iron, or tin, with a handle usually long and straight, used to dip water or other liquid.
8. n. [capitalized] The popular name in the United States of the seven principal stars in Ursa Major, or the Great Bear: so called from their being arranged in the form of vessel called a dipper. The corresponding stars in Ursa Minor are called the Little Dipper. See cuts under Ursa.
9. n. In photography, a holder or lifter for plunging plates into a sensitizing or fixing bath; especially, such a holder used in the wet-plate process for plunging the collodionized plate into the sensitizing bath of nitrate of silver.
10. n. A simple form of scoop-dredge. See dredging-machine.
11. n. In ceramics, a workman who dips ware in the glazing or coloring preparation: See dipped.
12. n. Any of the gastropod mollusks of the genus Bulla.

Wiktionary

1. n. Any of various small passerine birds of the genus Cinclus that live near fast-flowing streams and feed along the bottom.
2. n. A cup-shaped vessel with a long handle, for dipping out liquids.
3. n. slang pickpocket

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. One who, or that which, dips; especially, a vessel used to dip water or other liquid; a ladle.
2. n. A small grebe; the dabchick.
3. n. The buffel duck.
4. n. The water ouzel (Cinolus aquaticus) of Europe.
5. n. The American dipper or ouzel (Cinclus Mexicanus).

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a ladle that has a cup with a long handle
2. n. a group of seven bright stars in the constellation Ursa Major
3. n. small North American diving duck; males have bushy head plumage
4. n. a cluster of seven stars in Ursa Minor; at the end of the dipper's handle is Polaris
5. n. small stocky diving bird without webbed feet; frequents fast-flowing streams and feeds along the bottom