Link Centre Dictionary

nip

UK/nɪp/ US/ˈnɪp/ fairly common informal slang uk us
verb (3) noun (5)

verb

1.

squeeze tightly between the fingers

  • “He pinched her behind”
  • “She squeezed the bottle”
Synonyms
2.

give a small sharp bite to

  • “The Queen”
  • “s ankles”
3.

sever or remove by pinching or snipping

  • “nip off the flowers”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a small drink of liquor

  • “he poured a shot of whiskey”
Synonyms
2.

a person of Japanese descent

Synonyms
3.
4.

a small drink

Synonyms
5.

Origin

From late Middle English nippen, probably of Low German or Dutch origin, probably a byform of earlier *knippen (suggested by the derivative Middle English knippette (“pincers”)), from Middle Low German knîpen, from Old Saxon *knīpan, from Proto-West Germanic *knīpan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *knīpaną (“to pinch”). Related to Dutch nijpen, knijpen (“to pinch”), Danish nive (“pinch”); Swedish nypa (“pinch”); Low German knipen; German kneipen and kneifen (“to pinch, cut off, nip”), Old Norse hnippa (“to prod, poke”); Lithuanian knebti.

Phrases

  • in the nip
  • nip and tuck
  • nip at
  • nip in the bud
  • nip point

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.