nip
1
[ nip ]
/ nɪp /
verb (used with object), nipped, nip·ping.
verb (used without object), nipped, nip·ping.
Chiefly British Slang.
to leave stealthily; sneak away; flee (often followed by away).
noun
Idioms for nip
nip and tuck,
with each competitor equaling or closely contesting the speed, scoring, or efforts of the other: It was nip and tuck as to which sailboat would reach port first.
nip in the bud.
bud1(def 13).
Origin of nip
1
1350–1400; Middle English
nyppe to pinch < Old Norse
hnippa to poke, thrust
Words nearby nip
Definition for nip (2 of 3)
nip
2
[ nip ]
/ nɪp /
noun
a small drink of alcoholic liquor; sip: a person who relishes an occasional nip.
Chiefly British.
split(def 27).
verb (used with or without object), nipped, nip·ping.
to drink (alcoholic liquor) in small sips, especially repeatedly.
Origin of nip
2
1690–1700; < Dutch
nippen to sip; in def. 2, short for earlier
nipperkin vessel holding half-pint or less
Definition for nip (3 of 3)
Nip
[ nip ]
/ nɪp /
noun, adjective Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.
a contemptuous term used to refer to a Japanese person.
Origin of Nip
First recorded in 1942; short for
Nipponese
usage note for Nip
This term, patterned on the earlier term
Jap , was first used in English shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
British Dictionary definitions for nip (1 of 3)
nip
1
/ (nɪp) /
verb nips, nipping or nipped (mainly tr)
noun
Word Origin for nip
C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse
hnippa to prod
British Dictionary definitions for nip (2 of 3)
nip
2
/ (nɪp) /
noun
a small drink of spirits; dram
mainly British
a measure of spirits usually equal to one sixth of a gill
verb nips, nipping or nipped
to drink (spirits), esp habitually in small amounts
Word Origin for nip
C18: shortened from
nipperkin a vessel holding a half-pint or less, of uncertain origin; compare Dutch
nippen to sip
British Dictionary definitions for nip (3 of 3)
Word Origin for Nip
C20: short for
Nipponese