NIP (nipped, nipping)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: nipped    , nipping   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Nip mean? 

• NIP (noun)
  The noun NIP has 6 senses:

1. a small drink of liquor

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

3. the taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth

4. the property of being moderately cold

5. a tart spicy quality

6. a small sharp bite or snip

  Familiarity information: NIP used as a noun is common.

• NIP (verb)
  The verb NIP has 3 senses:

1. squeeze tightly between the fingers

2. give a small sharp bite to

3. sever or remove by pinching or snipping

  Familiarity information: NIP used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NIP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small drink of liquor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

nip; shot

Context example:

he poured a shot of whiskey

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

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Jap; Nip

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 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

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

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 4

Meaning:

The property of being moderately cold

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

chilliness; coolness; nip

Context example:

the chilliness of early morning

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

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

Derivation:

nippy (pleasantly cold and invigorating)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A tart spicy quality

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

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

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 6

Meaning:

A small sharp bite or snip

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

nip; pinch

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)

• NIP (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they nip    ... he / she / it nips   
Past simple: nipped   
Past participle: nipped   
-ing form: nipping   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Squeeze tightly between the fingers

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

nip; pinch; squeeze; tweet; twinge; twitch

Context example:

She squeezed the bottle

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Give a small sharp bite to

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

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

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 3

Meaning:

Sever or remove by pinching or snipping

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

clip; nip; nip off; snip; snip off

Context example:

nip off the flowers

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

 Context examples 

And then you'll give him a nip, like I do.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

He never nipped Buck without cause, and he never failed to nip him when he stood in need of it.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

If they had known the various tender passages which had been nipped in the bud, they would have had the immense satisfaction of saying, "I told you so."

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The wolves behind collided with the young wolf and expressed their displeasure by administering sharp nips on his hind-legs and flanks.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Supper over, the tables dormant were cleared away as by magic and trestles and bancals arranged around the blazing fire, for there was a bitter nip in the air.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But his narrative was nipped in the bud.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When a dog slipped or faltered, the one behind nipped his hind quarters.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I leaned against a gate, and looked into an empty field where no sheep were feeding, where the short grass was nipped and blanched.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

She returned just in time to join the others as they quitted the house, on an excursion through its more immediate premises; and the rest of the morning was easily whiled away, in lounging round the kitchen garden, examining the bloom upon its walls, and listening to the gardener's lamentations upon blights, in dawdling through the green-house, where the loss of her favourite plants, unwarily exposed, and nipped by the lingering frost, raised the laughter of Charlotte,—and in visiting her poultry-yard, where, in the disappointed hopes of her dairy-maid, by hens forsaking their nests, or being stolen by a fox, or in the rapid decrease of a promising young brood, she found fresh sources of merriment.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

It was an ideal spring day, a light blue sky, flecked with little fleecy white clouds drifting across from west to east. The sun was shining very brightly, and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air, which set an edge to a man’s energy.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)