nipper

[ nip-er ]

/ ˈnɪp ər /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: nipper / nippers on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or thing that nips.

Usually nippers. a device for nipping, as pincers or forceps.

one of the two large claws of a crustacean.

Metalworking. dog (def. 13).

nippers, Older Slang. handcuffs.

Informal.

a small boy.
Chiefly British. a costermonger's helper or assistant.

Nautical. a short rope for seizing an anchor cable to a messenger from a capstan.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of nipper

First recorded in 1525–35; nip¹ + -er¹

Words nearby nipper

nip curn, Nipigon, nip in the bud, Nipissing, Nipmuck, nipper, nippers, nipping, nipple, nipple line, nipple shield

How to use nipper in a sentence

The creature was covered with short hairs, and had a pair of nipper-like jaws, with which he could inflict an ugly wound.
A Mortal Antipathy|Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
The disposal of poor Nipper's earthly part was a tedious business, but it was accomplished finally.
Pippin; A Wandering Flame|Laura E. Richards
Nipper Crewe's wheel, well known to every burglar in the state, with the finest kit of breakin' tools made by man hid away in it!
Pippin; A Wandering Flame|Laura E. Richards
He is quite rightly prouder of that exploit than of all the Nipper's subsequent learning.
Essays on Modern Novelists|William Lyon Phelps

Dyou think you know more about fowls than I, who have handled them ever since I was a nipper?
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes|A. Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for nipper

nipper

/ (ˈnɪpə) /

noun

a person or thing that nips

the large pincer-like claw of a lobster, crab, or similar crustacean

informal a small child

Australian a type of small prawn used as bait

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

nipper

Origin of nipper

Words nearby nipper

Words related to nipper

How to use nipper in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nipper