Nip \Nip\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nipped, less properly Nipt;
p. pr. & vb. n. Nipping.] [OE. nipen; cf. D. niipen to
pinch, also knippen to nip, clip, pinch, snap, knijpen to
pinch, LG. knipen, G. kneipen, kneifen, to pinch, cut off,
nip, Lith. knebti.]
1. To catch and inclose or compress tightly between two
surfaces, or points which are brought together or closed;
to pinch; to close in upon.
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May this hard earth cleave to the Nadir hell,
Down, down, and close again, and nip me flat,
If I be such a traitress. --Tennyson.
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2. To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting
edges of anything; to clip.
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The small shoots . . . must be nipped off.
--Mortimer.
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3. Hence: To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor
of; to destroy.
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4. To vex or pain, as by nipping; hence, to taunt.
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And sharp remorse his heart did prick and nip.
--Spenser.
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To nip in the bud, to cut off at the very commencement of
growth; to kill in the incipient stage.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Nipping \Nip"ping\, a.
Biting; pinching; painful; destructive; as, a nipping frost;
a nipping wind.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
nip
n 1: a small drink of liquor; "he poured a shot of whiskey" [syn:
shot]
2: a person of Japanese descent [syn: Jap]
3: a tart spiciness [syn: piquance, piquancy, tang, tanginess,
zest]
4: a small drink [syn: sip]
5: small sharp biting [syn: pinch]
v 1: squeeze tightly between the fingers; "He pinched her
behind"; "She squeezed the bottle" [syn: pinch, squeeze,
twinge, tweet, twitch]
2: give a small sharp bite to; "The Queen's corgies always nip
at her staff's ankles"
3: sever or remove by pinching or snipping; "nip off the
flowers" [syn: nip off, clip, snip, snip off]
[also: nipping, nipped]
WordNet (r) 2.0
nipping
adj 1: capable of wounding; "a barbed compliment"; "a biting
aphorism"; "pungent satire" [syn: barbed, biting,
pungent, mordacious]
2: pleasantly cold and invigorating; "crisp clear nights and
frosty mornings"; "a nipping wind"; "a nippy fall day";
"snappy weather"; (`parky' is a British term) [syn: crisp,
frosty, nippy, snappy, parky]
WordNet (r) 2.0
nipping
See nip
WordNet (r) 2.0
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