nip in the bud

Idioms  

1. Halt something at an early stage, or thoroughly check something. For example, By arresting all the leaders, they nipped the rebellion in the bud. This metaphoric expression, alluding to a spring frost that kills flower buds, was first recorded in a Beaumont and Fletcher play of 1606–1607.

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Example Sentences

This is a rare emergent epidemic that we can still nip in the bud.

From Salon • Oct. 19, 2023

That sets up the kind of clown-car spectacle that a Chief Justice Roberts—who would prefer to participate in this senate trial from behind a bulletproof screen—would perhaps be moved to nip in the bud.

From Slate • Jan. 15, 2020

Still, to nip in the bud any thought that Merritt might be mistaken for Richardson, "If he cut his hair, I would greatly appreciate it," the lanky Richardson said.

From Reuters • Jun. 27, 2012

The company wants to nip in the bud what it fears could be more regulatory oversight.

From Washington Post • Jan. 25, 2011

It did more, for it served to nip in the bud that lassitude concerning the toilette, that feeling that “anything will do,” which creeps over those who dwell in lonely places.

From A Question of Marriage by Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.