Library / English Dictionary

NIP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: nipped    , nipping   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small sharp bite or snip

Synonyms:

nip; pinch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("nip" is a kind of...):

clip; clipping; snip (the act of clipping or snipping)

bite; chomp (the act of gripping or chewing off with the teeth and jaws)

Derivation:

nip (give a small sharp bite to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A tart spicy quality

Synonyms:

nip; piquance; piquancy; piquantness; tang; tanginess; zest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("nip" is a kind of...):

spice; spicery; spiciness (the property of being seasoned with spice and so highly flavored)

Derivation:

nippy (a sharp biting taste)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The property of being moderately cold

Example:

the chilliness of early morning

Synonyms:

chilliness; coolness; nip

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("nip" is a kind of...):

cold; coldness; frigidity; frigidness; low temperature (the absence of heat)

Derivation:

nippy (pleasantly cold and invigorating)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth

Synonyms:

flavor; flavour; nip; relish; sapidity; savor; savour; smack; tang

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("nip" is a kind of...):

gustatory perception; gustatory sensation; taste; taste perception; taste sensation (the sensation that results when taste buds in the tongue and throat convey information about the chemical composition of a soluble stimulus)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nip"):

lemon (a distinctive tart flavor characteristic of lemons)

vanilla (a distinctive fragrant flavor characteristic of vanilla beans)

Derivation:

nippy (a sharp biting taste)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(offensive slang) offensive term for a person of Japanese descent

Synonyms:

Jap; Nip

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("Nip" is a kind of...):

Japanese; Nipponese (a native or inhabitant of Japan)

Domain usage:

depreciation; derogation; disparagement (a communication that belittles somebody or something)

argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))

Sense 6

Meaning:

A small drink of liquor

Example:

he poured a shot of whiskey

Synonyms:

nip; shot

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("nip" is a kind of...):

small indefinite amount; small indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give a small sharp bite to

Example:

The Queen's corgis always nip at her staff's ankles

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "nip" is one way to...):

bite; seize with teeth (to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

nip (a small sharp bite or snip)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Sever or remove by pinching or snipping

Example:

nip off the flowers

Synonyms:

clip; nip; nip off; snip; snip off

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "nip" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Squeeze tightly between the fingers

Example:

She squeezed the bottle

Synonyms:

nip; pinch; squeeze; tweet; twinge; twitch

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "nip" is one way to...):

grip (hold fast or firmly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "nip"):

goose (pinch in the buttocks)

tweak (pinch or squeeze sharply)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

nipper (a grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods)

Credits

 Context examples: 

And you won't forget my words; 'A precious sight (that's what you'll say), a precious sight more confidence'—and then nips him.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

François was stern, demanding instant obedience, and by virtue of his whip receiving instant obedience; while Dave, who was an experienced wheeler, nipped Buck’s hind quarters whenever he was in error.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He'd better nip his little passion in the bud, hadn't he? added Laurie, in a confidential, elder brotherly tone, after a minute's silence.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

There was a playfulness about her nips and a gentleness that prevented them from really hurting him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I leant against a pillar of the verandah, drew my grey mantle close about me, and, trying to forget the cold which nipped me without, and the unsatisfied hunger which gnawed me within, delivered myself up to the employment of watching and thinking.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

A chill wind was blowing that nipped him sharply and bit with especial venom into his wounded shoulder.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Sometimes, however, a nip on his hind-quarters hastened his retreat and made it anything but stately.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

But there was that in him deeper than all the law he had learned, than the customs that had moulded him, than his love for the master, than the very will to live of himself; and when, in the moment of his indecision, Collie nipped him and scampered off, he turned and followed after.

(White Fang, by Jack London)