nipper

[ nip-er ]

/ ˈnɪp ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nipper 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.

RELATED WORDS

lad, boy, youngster, child, biter

Nearby words

Origin of nipper

First recorded in 1525–35; nip¹ + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nipper

But the inflexible Nipper, merely honouring Mrs Pipchin with another look, remained.
Dombey and Son|Charles Dickens
For with Nipper and his class emotion or shamefacedness of any kind always in the first instance produces additional dourness.
The Surprising Adventures of Sir Toady Lion With Those of General Napoleon Smith|S. R. Crockett
Florence gently looked at her, and Miss Nipper checked herself.
Dombey and Son|Charles Dickens
Again about midnight he was roused, this time by the whining of the sheep-dog "Nipper."
"Over There" with the Australians|R. Hugh Knyvett

The nipper is horribly gulping at its food, jam smears quite all about its countenance.
Ruggles of Red Gap|Harry Leon Wilson

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

Word Origin and History for nipper

nipper

"small boy," 1859, originally (1530s) a pickpocket who "pinched" other people's property; see nip (v.).