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| Date: | 1300-1400 |
| Language: | Middle Low German |
| Origin: | nipen |
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nip1
past tense and past participle nipped, present participle nipping
past tense and past participle nipped, present participle nipping1 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] British English informal to go somewhere quickly or for a short time [= pop]: Have we time to nip down the pub for a quick drink? Another car nipped in (=moved quickly into a space) in front of me. I've got to nip home and change my clothes.
Have we time to nip down the pub for a quick drink?Another car nipped in (=moved quickly into a space) in front of me.I've got to nip home and change my clothes.2 [intransitive and transitive] to bite someone or something lightly : She gently nipped the lobe of his ear.
She gently nipped the lobe of his ear.3 to prevent something from becoming a problem by stopping it as soon as it starts : Try to nip this kind of bad behaviour in the bud.
nip something in the bud
Try to nip this kind of bad behaviour in the bud.4 [transitive] British English to suddenly and quickly press something tightly between two fingers, edges, or surfaces [↪ pinch]: Sally nipped her cheeks to make them look less pale. He nipped his finger in the door.
Sally nipped her cheeks to make them look less pale.He nipped his finger in the door.5 [intransitive and transitive] written if cold weather or the wind nips at part of your body or at a plant, it hurts or damages it
nip at The frost nipped at our fingers.
The frost nipped at our fingers.nip something ↔ off
phrasal verbDLG to remove a small part of something, especially a plant, by pressing it tightly between your finger and thumb : She nipped off a dead flower.
She nipped off a dead flower.