Nip — Defs

01 n. A sip or small draught; esp., a draught of intoxicating liquor; a dram.

02 v. t. To catch and inclose or compress tightly between two surfaces, or points which are brought together or closed; to pinch; to close in upon.

imp. & p. p. Nipped; p. pr. & vb. n. Nipping

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.
“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.
2.
To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting edges of anything; to clip.
“The small shoots . . . must be nipped off.” — Mortimer.
3.
Hence: To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor of; to destroy.
4.
To vex or pain, as by nipping; hence, to taunt.
“And sharp remorse his heart did prick and nip.” — Spenser.

Phrases & compounds

To nip in the bud — to cut off at the very commencement of growth; to kill in the incipient stage.

03 n. A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching; as, in the northern seas, the nip of masses of ice.

1.
A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching; as, in the northern seas, the nip of masses of ice.
2.
A pinch with the nails or teeth.
3.
A small cut, or a cutting off the end.
4.
A blast; a killing of the ends of plants by frost.
5.
A biting sarcasm; a taunt.
6.
A short turn in a rope.(Naut.)

Phrases & compounds

Nip and tuck — a phrase signifying equality in a contest; as, it was nip and tuck right to the last minute of play.