nip
1[ nip ]
/ nɪp /
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verb (used with object), nipped, nip·ping.
verb (used without object), nipped, nip·ping.
Chiefly British Slang. to leave stealthily; sneak away;flee (often followed by away).
noun
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Idioms about nip
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).
Origin of nip
1First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English nippen, nipe(n), nip “to bite, pinch,” from Old Norse hnippa “to poke, thrust”
Other definitions for nip (2 of 3)
nip2
[ nip ]
/ nɪp /
noun
a small drink of alcoholic liquor; sip: a person who relishes an occasional nip.
Chiefly British. split (def. 27).
verb (used with or without object), nipped, nip·ping.
to drink (alcoholic liquor) in small sips, especially repeatedly.
Origin of nip
2First recorded in 1690–1700; from Dutch nippen “to sip”; in def. 2, short for earlier nipperkin “vessel holding half-pint or less”
Other definitions for nip (3 of 3)
Nip
[ nip ]
/ nɪp /
noun, adjective Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.
a contemptuous term used to refer to a Japanese person.
Origin of Nip
First recorded in 1942; short for Nipponese
usage note for Nip
This term, patterned on the earlier term Jap , was first used in English shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use nip in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for nip (1 of 3)
nip1
/ (nɪp) /
verb nips, nipping or nipped (mainly tr)
noun
Word Origin for nip
C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse hnippa to prod
British Dictionary definitions for nip (2 of 3)
nip2
/ (nɪp) /
noun
a small drink of spirits; dram
mainly British a measure of spirits usually equal to one sixth of a gill
verb nips, nipping or nipped
to drink (spirits), esp habitually in small amounts
Word Origin for nip
C18: shortened from nipperkin a vessel holding a half-pint or less, of uncertain origin; compare Dutch nippen to sip
British Dictionary definitions for nip (3 of 3)
Word Origin for Nip
C20: short for Nipponese
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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