nipper

[ nip-er ]

/ ˈnɪp ər /

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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. 12).

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.

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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, nipplewort, Nippon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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