nip /ˈnɪp/
捏,夾,寒冷,小飲(vt.)捏,夾,鉗,剪斷,阻止,凍傷(vi.)夾,捏,刺骨,小飲
Nip n. A sip or small draught; esp., a draught of intoxicating liquor; a dram.
Nip, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nipped less properly Nipt; 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.
To nip in the bud, to cut off at the very commencement of growth; to kill in the incipient stage.
Nip, n.
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. Naut. A short turn in a rope.
Nip and tuck, a phrase signifying equality in a contest; as, it was nip and tuck right to the last minute of play. [Low, U.S.]
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nip
n 1: a small drink of liquor; "he poured a shot of whiskey" [syn:
shot]
2: a person of Japanese descent [syn: Jap]
3: a tart spiciness [syn: piquance, piquancy, tang, tanginess,
zest]
4: a small drink [syn: sip]
5: small sharp biting [syn: pinch]
v 1: squeeze tightly between the fingers; "He pinched her
behind"; "She squeezed the bottle" [syn: pinch, squeeze,
twinge, tweet, twitch]
2: give a small sharp bite to; "The Queen's corgies always nip
at her staff's ankles"
3: sever or remove by pinching or snipping; "nip off the
flowers" [syn: nip off, clip, snip, snip off]
[also: nipping, nipped]