nip1
[nip]
- to squeeze or compress tightly between two surfaces or points; pinch; bite.
- to take off by pinching, biting, or snipping (usually followed by off): He nipped off a piece of steak and gave it to the dog.
- to check in growth or development.
- to affect sharply and painfully or injuriously, as a very cold temperature: a cold wind that nips the fingers.
- Informal. to snatch away suddenly.
- Informal. to defeat (an opponent) by a very close margin; edge.
- Informal. to steal or pilfer.
- Nautical.
- (of ice) to press (a ship) from opposite sides.
- to seize (a taut rope) to another rope.
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- Chiefly British Slang. to leave stealthily; sneak away; flee (often followed by away).
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- an act of nipping; a pinch or small bite: The dog took several nips at our heels.
- a biting quality, as in cold or frosty air: There's a nip in the air this morning.
- sharp cold; a sharp touch of frost: The trees had felt the first nip of winter.
- a sharp or biting remark.
- a biting taste or tang, especially in some cheese.
- a small bit or quantity of anything: a nip of bread to stave off hunger.
- Nautical.
- an abrupt turn or twist in a rope.
- a part of a rope or chain bound by a seizing or nipper.
- Usually nips. nipper(def 2).
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- nip and tuck, with each competitor equaling or closely contesting the speed, scoring, or efforts of the other: It was nip and tuck as to which sailboat would reach port first.
- nip in the bud. bud1(def 13).
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Origin of nip1
1350–1400; Middle English nyppe to pinch < Old Norse hnippa to poke, thrust
Synonyms
nip2
[nip]
- a small drink of alcoholic liquor; sip: a person who relishes an occasional nip.
- Chiefly British. split(def 27).
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- to drink (alcoholic liquor) in small sips, especially repeatedly.
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Origin of nip2
1690–1700; < Dutch nippen to sip; in def. 2, short for earlier nipperkin vessel holding half-pint or less
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
snapnibblesipshotpinchbitedropjoltdramportionfingercatchmouthfulslugmorselsniftergriptwitchcliptwingeExamples from the Web for nipped
Contemporary Examples
Luckily, as filming wrapped up no one had been nipped, and the penguins we safely returned to their carriers.
By saying that the parties have agreed that he and he alone may be trusted, Kerry has nipped that in the bud.
Raf Simons's nipped waists displayed a range of Sixties references.
Last week, the Vikings nipped the Packers with a field goal as time expired.
He should have been charged at least with manslaughter…The ones who could have nipped this in the bud were the Sanford police.
Historical Examples
If the skin or rind is rough, and cannot he nipped, it is old.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
But, as fate would have it, our little barney was nipped in the bud.
The Stark Munro LettersJ. Stark Munro
The scratches on his own flesh were not serious, though they nipped a little at first movement.
The Fiery TotemArgyll Saxby
And she swished her tail over her back as she nipped the daisies from their stems.
Roberts answered, breezing in with an apology which I nipped.
The Million-Dollar SuitcaseAlice MacGowan
Nip
- slang a derogatory word for a Japanese
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Word Origin
C20: short for Nipponese
nip1
- to catch or tightly compress, as between a finger and the thumb; pinch
- (often foll by off) to remove by clipping, biting, etc
- (when intr, often foll by at) to give a small sharp bite (to)the dog nipped at his heels
- (esp of the cold) to affect with a stinging sensation
- to harm through coldthe frost nipped the young plants
- to check or destroy the growth of (esp in the phrase nip in the bud)
- slang to steal
- (intr; foll by along, up, out, etc) British informal to hurry; dart
- slang, mainly US and Canadian to snatch
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- the act of nipping; a pinch, snip, etc
- a frosty or chilly quality
- severe frost or coldthe first nip of winter
- a small piece or quantityhe went out for a nip of fresh air
- a sharp flavour or tang
- archaic a taunting remark
- nip and tuck
- mainly US and Canadianneck and neck
- informalplastic surgery performed for cosmetic reasons
- put the nips in Australian and NZ slang to exert pressure on someone, esp in order to extort money
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Word Origin
C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse hnippa to prod
nip2
- a small drink of spirits; dram
- mainly British a measure of spirits usually equal to one sixth of a gill
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- to drink (spirits), esp habitually in small amounts
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Word Origin
C18: shortened from nipperkin a vessel holding a half-pint or less, of uncertain origin; compare Dutch nippen to sip
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
Word Origin and History for nipped
nip
n.2
"a pinch; a sharp bite," 1540s, from nip (v.). Meaning "a chill in the weather" is from 1610s, probably so called for its effect on vegetation. Nip and tuck "a close thing" is recorded from 1832, perhaps from sailing or tailoring.
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nip
v.
"to pinch sharply; to bite suddenly," late 14c., related to Middle Low German nipen "to nip, to pinch," Middle Dutch nipen "to pinch," Dutch nijpen, Old Norse hnippa "to prod," but the exact evolution of the stem is obscure. Related: Nipped; nipping. To nip (something) in the bud in the figurative sense is first recorded c.1600.
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nip
n.1
"small measure of spirits," 1796, shortening of nipperkin (1670s) "quantity of liquor of a half pint or less," possibly of Dutch or Low German origin and related to nip (v.). Reinforced by nip (n.2) on notion of "fragment or bit pinched off" (c.1600).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper