Flip-flop

Pronunciation

• enPR: flÄ­p'flŏp", IPA: /ˈflɪpËŒflÉ’p/

Alternative forms

• flipflop

Origin

Onomatopoetic: most probably an imitation of the sound produced when walking in them.

Full definition of flip-flop

Noun

1. (US) An instance of flip-flopping, of repeatedly changing one's stated opinion about a matter. from 19th c.
2. (computing, electronics) 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 2013, p. 72:Ten two-state flip-flops … were formed into ten-stage ring counters representing each decimal digit in the ten-digit accumulators ….
3. A sandal, usually of rubber, secured to the foot by two straps mounted between the big toe and its neighbour. from 20th c.

Synonyms

• (footwear) thong, jandal (New Zealand)

Verb

1. To alternate back and forth between directly opposite opinions, ideas, or decisions.----