nibs

[ nibz ]

noun
  1. his / her nibs, Informal: Often Facetious. a person in authority, especially one who is demanding and tyrannical: His nibs wants fresh strawberries in December.

Origin of nibs

1
First recorded in 1815–25; origin uncertain

Words Nearby nibs

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use nibs in a sentence

  • Well, they wants to kill his nibs and all the dookes, to make one of their own crowd king.

    Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
  • One of the parts, or nibs, is cut off close to the handle and the remaining one sharpened on both edges at the point.

  • I am no good at French, so indulge in a game of nibs with my neighbour, who does not love ‘parley-voo’ any more than I do.

  • When sufficiently boiled, strain the cocoa from the nibs, mix it with equal proportions of milk, and sweeten with sugar.

  • No, Jimmy did not know of this strenuous course of nibs' training.

    Ann Arbor Tales | Karl Edwin Harriman

British Dictionary definitions for nibs

nibs

/ (nɪbz) /


noun
  1. his nibs (functioning as singular) slang a mock title used of someone in authority

Origin of nibs

1
C19: of unknown origin

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