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nip

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nip¹

  • /nɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

Where it comes from

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.

verb nips · nipping · nipped · gnip · knip

  1. To catch and enclose 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.
  2. To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting edges of anything; to clip. The small shoots ... must be nipt off.
  3. To benumb [e.g., cheeks, fingers, nose] by severe cold.
  4. To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor of; to destroy.
  5. To annoy, as by nipping. And sharp remorse his heart did prick and nip.
  6. To taunt.
  7. Northern England, Scotland To squeeze or pinch.
  8. UK, obsolete To steal; especially to cut a purse. Ben mort, shall you and I heave a bough, mill a ken, or nip a bung, and then we'll couch a hogshead under the ruffmans, and there you shall wap with me, and I'll niggle with you.

    Similar: steal, abduct, abstract, appropriate, bag, bandit, bash and grab, bone, boost, burgle, burglarize, borrow

  9. obsolete To affect [one] painfully; to cause physical pain.' 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. …"

noun nips · gnip · knip

  1. A playful bite. The puppy gave his owner’s finger a nip.
  2. A pinch with the nails or teeth.
  3. Briskly cold weather. There is a nip in the air. It is nippy outside.
  4. A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching the nip of masses of ice
  5. A small cut, or a cutting off the end.
  6. A more or less gradual thinning out of a stratum.
  7. A blast; a killing of the ends of plants by frost.
  8. A biting sarcasm; a taunt.
  9. A short turn in a rope.
  10. The place of intersection where one roll touches another
  11. UK, obsolete A pickpocket. A novice nip, newly arrived in London, went one afternoon to the Red Bull in Bishopsgate, an inn converted to a playhouse.

    Similar: cutpurse, dip, dipper, foist, footpad, gonoph, nip, nipper, pickpocket, pickpocketer, pickpurse, prig

nip²

  • /nɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

Where it comes from

Short for nipperkin, ultimately from Middle Low German nippen or Middle Dutch nipen ("to sip; nip"; > Dutch nippen). Compare also German nippen (“to sip; taste”).

noun nips

  1. A small amount of food or drink, (particularly) a small amount of liquor. I’ll just take a nip of that cake.

    Similar: nibble, a little of the creature, dram, snifter, slug, tot

nip³

  • /nɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

Where it comes from

Clipping of nipple.

noun nips

  1. in plural, slang, vulgar A nipple, usually of a woman. Did you manage to sneak a peek at her nips, bro?

verb nips · nipping · nipped

  1. slang, vulgar To have erect nipples.

nip⁴

  • /nɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

verb nips · nipping · nipped

  1. informal To make a quick, short journey or errand, usually a round trip. Why don’t you nip down to the grocer’s for some milk?

nip⁵

  • /nɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

Where it comes from

Canada 1931.

noun nips

  1. Northwestern, Ontario A hamburger.

nip⁶

  • /nɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

Where it comes from

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

noun nips

  1. alternative, dated, ethnic, offensive, slang, slur Alternative spelling of Nip; a Japanese person.

Nip⁷

  • /nɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

Where it comes from

Clipping of Nipponese, derived from Nippon, from Japanese 日本 (Nippon).

noun Nips

  1. dated, ethnic, offensive, slang, slur A Japanese person. CHUNGKING, Oct. 10—Chinese counterblows against the Japanese offensive in south China have reeled the Nips back from two towns in the approaches to Kweilin, capital city of Kwangsi Province, today’s Chinese High Command communique announced.

    Similar: Jap

adjective

  1. dated, ethnic, not comparable, offensive, slang, slur Japanese.

NIP⁸

proper noun

  1. US, abbreviation Abbreviation of National Immunization Program
  2. UK, abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Northern Independence Party

noun NIPs

  1. abbreviation Abbreviation of non-native invasive plant
  2. UK, abbreviation Abbreviation of notice of intended prosecution

adjective

  1. abbreviation, not comparable Abbreviation of new in package

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: sip, zest, piquance, piquancy, tang, tanginess, snip, pinch, squeeze, twinge, clip, vellicate, twitch, tweet, shot, jap

Translations

Every language

verb To catch and enclose or compress tightly between two surfaces

Deutschkneifen, zusammenquetschen

noun playful bite

Portuguêsmordiscar

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"nip." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nip. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

nip. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nip

Chicago

"nip." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nip.

BibTeX
@misc{nip_2026,
  title = {nip},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nip},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}