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Synonyms

nipping

American  
[nip-ing] / ˈnɪp ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. sharp or biting, as cold.

  2. sarcastic; caustic.

nipping British  
/ ˈnɪpɪŋ /

adjective

  1. sharp and biting

    a nipping wind

  2. sarcastic; bitter

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of nipping

First recorded in 1540–50; nip 1 + -ing 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Without competition nipping at its heels, Bell Labs engineers had the luxury of working out difficult ideas over decades.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Claude-maker Anthropic has OpenAI, Google's Gemini and even Grok from xAI nipping at its heels in the market for professional AI.

From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026

"I'm open to evolution and some nipping and tucking, but without being ultimately able to steer the ship maybe there is someone better," he said.

From BBC • Jan. 21, 2026

Microsoft currently holds the rank of the third-largest U.S. company, but can it maintain its lead with Alphabet nipping at its heels?

From MarketWatch • Nov. 19, 2025

The Black Tips had been nipping at his heels for weeks, and now he’d forced them to play their hand.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.