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

Today, the Since 9/11 charity runs counter-extremism programs in British schools, aiming to nip in the bud the impulses that led to 9/11 and to the attacks that have since taken place in Britain.

From Washington Post • Sep. 10, 2018

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

But how much potential walking do we nip in the bud with our lack of sidewalks, our dangerous crossings, our unconnected pedestrian networks?

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2012

The government was compelled to send under Colonel Wolseley an expeditionary force of Imperial troops and Canadian volunteers to nip in the bud the supposed attempt to establish French ascendancy on the Red River.

From The Fathers of Confederation A Chronicle of the Birth of the Dominion by Colquhoun, A. H. U. (Arthur Hugh Urquhart)