nippy

American  

[nip-ee] / ˈnɪp i /

adjective

nippier, nippiest

1. chilly or cold.

   morning air that feels a bit nippy.

2. sharp or biting; tangy.

   This cheese has a good, nippy taste.

3. Chiefly British Informal. nimble; agile.

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nippy British  

/ ˈnɪpɪ /

adjective

1. (of weather) chilly, keen, or frosty

2. informal

   1. quick; nimble; active

   2. (of a motor vehicle) small and relatively powerful

3. (of the taste of food) biting, sharp, or pungent

4. (of a dog) inclined to bite

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Other Word Forms

• nippiness
  noun
• nippily
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of nippy

First recorded in 1565–75; nip ¹ + -y ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nippy nippier nippiest

On a nippy Monday night at the Zebulon in Frogtown, a man wearing a Jason Voorhees T-shirt steps onto a purple-lighted stage and stands next to a drum set.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

"Here you find luxury cars that you don't even see in Europe," joked Moustapha from the wheel of a nippy little Suzuki.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025

Schiff’s rally, held on a nippy, mostly overcast morning, marked the start of a two-week statewide tour, with stops to include San Diego, Sacramento, Fresno and San Francisco.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 11, 2023

Some experts insist that small dogs are not inherently nippy and loud, but are socialized that way.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2021

“Git!” she cried, the way she had always done to nippy dogs who chased her on her bicycle.

From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen

But TfW have said that technology already works on the bigger 756 trains, the temporary stop-gap before the nippier, purpose-built vehicles are rolled out.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

The nippier Leceile improved all last year and may be able to get away from these rivals.

From The Guardian ● May 5, 2010

Popular pleasure shows itself in those hastening steps and brightened smiles encountered as the air grows nippier.

From Time Magazine Archive

The East throws a narrower and a nippier breed.

From The House with the Green Shutters by George Douglas Brown

That was perhaps too polite, Betsy feared, but Tommy said authoritatively, "No, the politer the nippier."

From Sentimental Tommy The Story of His Boyhood by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie

On a recent trip to Japan, the press minibus wasn't the nippiest, its engine squealing to keep up with the slick Mercedes of the prime minister a dozen or so vehicles ahead.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2023

Bowe is among the most prolific wingers in Europe and the rapidly emerging Gilroy is among the nippiest, having made an eye-catching start to his Test career last month.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 14, 2012

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