nip

CEFRC1

/nɪp/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To bite or pinch quickly.

  2. 02

    noun

    A small amount or quick bite.

Examples

  • Algeria needs to nip this problem in the bud.

  • We have to nip this problem in the bud before it gets any worse.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To benumb [e.g., cheeks, fingers, nose] by severe cold.

  2. To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting edges of anything; to clip.

  3. To catch and enclose or compress tightly between two surfaces, or points which are brought together or closed; to pinch; to close in upon.

More examples

In context

  • The puppy gave his owner’s finger a nip.

  • There is a nip in the air. It is nippy outside.

  • He had never expected to fling the soldier, or to be flung by Flea. “One nips or is nipped,” he thought, “and never knows beforehand. …"

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The small dog tried to blank my ankle as I walked past, leaving a tiny mark.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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.