nipper

[nip-er]

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.
1. a small boy.
2. Chiefly British.a costermonger's helper or assistant.
Nautical. a short rope for seizing an anchor cable to a messenger from a capstan.

Origin of nipper

First recorded in 1525–35; nip¹ + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for nippers

lad, boy, youngster, child, biter

Examples from the Web for nippers

Historical Examples of nippers

Bluenoses have no use for nippers, as Britishers call apprentices.
All Afloat
William Wood
Also, the cable is brought-to when fastened to the messenger by nippers.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
The surging or slipping of the cable when the nippers do not hold.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
To clap on nippers closely, just at starting the anchor from the ground.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
A policeman came in from the street and put the nippers on him.
Halsey & Co.
H. K. Shackleford

British Dictionary definitions for nippers

nippers

pl n

an instrument or tool, such as a pair of pliers, for snipping, pinching, or squeezing

nipper

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 nippers

nipper

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