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nip
nip1 / nip/ • v. (nipped , nip·ping ) 1. [tr.] pinch, squeeze, or bite sharply: the dog nipped him on the leg. ∎ (of the cold or frost) cause sharp pain or harm to: the vegetable garden, nipped now by frost. ∎ (nip something off) remove something by pinching or squeezing sharply. 2. inf. defeat by a narrow margin. 3. [tr.] inf. steal or snatch (something): if I nipped a five-dollar bill I could slip it back the next day. • n. a sharp pinch, squeeze, or bite. ∎ a feeling of biting cold: there was a real winter nip in the air. PHRASES: nip something in the bud suppress or destroy something, esp. at an early stage: the idea has been nipped in the bud at the local level. nip2 • n. a small quantity or sip of liquor. • v. (nipped, nip·ping ) [intr.] take a sip or sips of liquor: the men nipped from the bottle. |
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Cite this article
"nip." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "nip." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-nip005.html "nip." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-nip005.html |
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nip
nip.
1. The name given by seamen to a short turn or twist in a rope or hawser (see also frenchman). 2. That part of a rope bound by a seizing around a thimble or round the tucks of an eye splice. Nip in the hawse, a twist in a ship's cable when lying to an anchor, which can usually be cured by veering more cable to an order to ‘freshen the nip’, a phrase that can also mean to ease marginally or tighten a sheet or halyard so that any point of chafe is moved. 3. As a verb, it is applied to a vessel when it is caught between two converging floes of ice in Arctic or Antarctic waters. |
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Cite this article
"nip." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "nip." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-nip.html "nip." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-nip.html |
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nip
nip1 pinch XIV; snatch, seize smartly XVI; move nimbly XIX. prob. of LG. or Du. orig.; cf. †Sc. gnip (XIV), †knip (XVI).
Hence sb. XVI. nipper †thief XVI; costermonger's boy, (hence) youngster XIX. |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "nip." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "nip." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-nip.html T. F. HOAD. "nip." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-nip.html |
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nip
nip2 †half-pint of ale XVIII; small quantity of spirits XIX. prob. short for †nipperkin (XVII) measure of half a pint or less, small quantity of drink, rel. to LG., Du. nippen.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "nip." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "nip." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-nip1.html T. F. HOAD. "nip." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-nip1.html |
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Nip
Nip / nip/ • n. inf., offens. a Japanese person. |
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Cite this article
"Nip." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Nip." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-nip.html "Nip." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-nip.html |
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nip
nip •blip, chip, clip, dip, drip, equip, flip, grip, gyp, harelip, hip, kip, lip, nip, outstrip, pip, quip, rip, scrip, ship, sip, skip, slip, snip, strip, tip, toodle-pip, trip, whip, yip, zip
•biochip • microchip • woodchip
•sheepdip • skinny-dip • rosehip
•landslip • payslip
•fillip, Philip
•gymslip • side-slip • polyp • oxlip
•cowslip • pillowslip
•julep, tulip
•Cudlipp • paperclip • catnip • parsnip
•turnip • handgrip • cantrip • hairgrip
•airstrip • filmstrip • kirby grip
•weatherstrip • gossip • airship
•midship • kinship • godship • warship
•gunship • worship • wingtip
•fingertip • horsewhip • bullwhip
•bunyip
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Cite this article
"nip." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "nip." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-nip.html "nip." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-nip.html |
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