I. ˈnip verb
( nipped or archaic nipt ; nipped or archaic nipt ; nipping ; nips )
Etymology: Middle English nippen; akin to Middle Dutch nīpen to nip, Old Norse hnippa to prod, Greek knips, an insect, skniptein to nip, konis dust — more at incinerate
transitive verb
1.
a. : to catch hold of and squeeze tightly between two surfaces, edges, or points : compress especially by pinching or biting : clamp
the dog nipped him on the leg
nipped his grandson between his knees — Ethel Anderson
a little gold ring … nipped to the top of an ear — Christopher Rand
b. : to secure or stop (a cable or rope) with seizing
c. obsolete : to close up (a glass vessel or tube) by pressing together the heated mouth or neck
2.
a. : to sever by or as if by pinching sharply or biting
choosing a slender cigar … he nipped it carefully and lit it — Ann Bridge
nipped out pieces from the ends of the bar — L.A.Werden
salient, in danger of being nipped off anytime — Earle Birney
specifically : to pinch or clip off (as a bud or shoot) in horticulture
in the spring the blooms are nipped, allowing the bulb to retain the full nourishment of the plant juices — American Guide Series: Louisiana
b. : to destroy the growth, progress, maturing, or fulfillment of
his designs were … nipped in their infancy — T.L.Peacock
— often with in the bud
the political leaders would … nip the conspiracy in the bud — William Clark
: check sharply
government fiscal policy was used to nip a downswing — J.R.Chamberlain
c. : to diminish by cutting off bits
the Atlantic … nibbling away at the rocks, nipping off a bit here and swallowing a valley there — Alastair Borthwick
3. : to censure sharply or bitingly
when her brother whom she despised grew sentimental … she nipped him — Rose Feld
4.
a. : to make numb with cold : chill
the wind … nipped him to the bone — Rudyard Kipling
b. : to cause injury to (vegetation) : blight
see if this frost has not nipped my fruit trees — James Boswell
c. : to affect painfully and closely
these tidings nip me and I hang the head — Shakespeare
5. : to seize suddenly and forcibly : snatch ; especially : steal
whoever nipped the whiskey, nipped the money, too — Mark Twain
6.
a. : to apply momentary mechanical pressure to (as a book or something mounted) so as to compact the leaves or promote adhesion — compare smash 4
b. : to shape up (the raised bands on the backbone of a leather-covered book) with band nippers
7. : to beat (an opponent) by a very small margin of score, distance, or time
nipped him by 6 in. at the tape — Time
intransitive verb
chiefly Britain : to move briskly, nimbly, or quickly
nip up there and fetch me down a book — James Ronald
as
a. : jump , hop
nipping in and out of buses and taxis — Alan Moorehead
nipping on a tram — Richard Llewellyn
b.
(1) : hurry
nip back here with the key — Dodie Smith
(2) : hurry away — used with off
we nipped off while they was milking — Audrey Barker
(3) : dart
nipping in under his host's arm — Elizabeth Bowen
c. : to make a quick trip : hop 2b
shall I nip out and buy one — Alan Paton
d. : interrupt , intrude — used with in or into
nipped in with a neat query — Punch
II. noun
( -s )
1. : something (as a quality or element of a thing) that nips: as
a. : a sharp, biting comment : dig II 1b
many a privy nip has he given him — Andrew Marvell
b. : a sharp, stinging cold
the nip of the air had startled her — Willa Cather
especially : a frost that checks or destroys the growth of vegetation
some tender slip saved with care from Winter's nip — John Milton
c. : a biting or pungent flavor:
(1) Scotland : tang
cheese with a nip
(2) : piquancy
a scholar with a nip in his words — H.J.Laski
2. : a compression between two surfaces, edges, or points: as
a. : a sharp bite : pinch
the … nips of the timid black widow spider — Donald Carlisle
b. : a pinch of a coal seam
c.
(1) : the pressure of a rope when it is bent around or held by something
(2) : a sharp bend or turn in a rope where chafing occurs
in calm weather the nip of a cable is usually freshened every 24 hours — Manual of Seamanship
d. : the crushing pressure on a ship caught in the ice
e.
(1) : the region of a calender or other squeezing or crushing device where the rolls or jaws are closest together
(2) : the line of contact of any pair of the rolls used in papermaking (as press and calender rolls) between which the paper passes
(3) : the distance between the corrugations of a pair of rollers (as those used in flour milling) in the course of rotation
3. : a sly thief : cutpurse , pickpocket
punishment of foists and nips caught in the act was prompt — Times Literary Supplement
4. : a small portion : bit III
wrapped a loaf of bread and a nip of cheese in the blanket — A.B.Mayse
5. : a low cliff often with a narrow platform at its base cut by waves and currents in an initial stage of their activity
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration of nep (I)
dialect chiefly England : catnip
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably short for nipperkin
: a small quantity of liquor : sip
might take a little nip now and then — Hamilton Basso
gin at threepence a nip — Fred Majdalany
V. intransitive verb
( nipped ; nipped ; nipping ; nips )
: to take liquor in nips : tipple
getting higher all the time by nipping at … bottles filled with martinis — Daniel Curley
VI. noun or adjective
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: by shortening
: nipponese — usually used disparagingly