Top Definitions
Quiz
Related Content
Examples

nip in the bud

Save This Word!

See synonyms for nip in the bud on Thesaurus.com

Definition of nip in the bud

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.

VIDEO FOR NIP IN THE BUD

Can You Correct These Idioms?

Have you ever heard the idiom it’s a doggie-dog world? Well that’s not the correct phrase. It’s actually dog-eat-dog world. Can you correct these other common idioms?

MORE VIDEOS FROM DICTIONARY.COM

QUIZ

GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!

Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.

Question 1 of 9

Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby nip in the bud

nipa, Nipah virus, nip and tuck, nip curn, Nipigon, nip in the bud, Nipissing, Nipmuck, nipper, nippers, nipping

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

How to use nip in the bud in a sentence

France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is a guy who has his son-in-law clean his eyeglasses, for crying out loud.
Will Chris Christie Regret His Cowboy Hug?|Matt Lewis|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Her travel clique has been known to arrive at an airport, bags packed, passport-in-hand, within hours of spotting a deal.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement|Charlise Ferguson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sleek finds it far harder work than fortune-making; but he pursues his Will-o'-the-Wisp with untiring energy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
By a voice he saith: Hear me, ye divine offspring, and bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Such throats are trying, are they not?In case one catches cold; Ah, yes!
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
The commander-in-chief still kept him attached to the headquarter staff, and constantly employed him on special service.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
So far Murat had always held subordinate commands; his great ambition was to become the commander-in-chief of an independent army.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison