Nipping

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Nip \Nip\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Nipped}, less properly {Nipt};
     p. pr. & vb. n. {Nipping}.] [OE. nipen; cf. D. niipen to
     pinch, also knippen to nip, clip, pinch, snap, knijpen to
     pinch, LG. knipen, G. kneipen, kneifen, to pinch, cut off,
     nip, Lith. knebti.]
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting
        edges of anything; to clip.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The small shoots . . . must be nipped off.
                                                    --Mortimer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Hence: To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor
        of; to destroy.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. To vex or pain, as by nipping; hence, to taunt.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              And sharp remorse his heart did prick and nip.
                                                    --Spenser.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {To nip in the bud}, to cut off at the very commencement of
        growth; to kill in the incipient stage.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Nipping \Nip"ping\, a.
     Biting; pinching; painful; destructive; as, a nipping frost;
     a nipping wind.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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}]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  nipping
       adj 1: capable of wounding; "a barbed compliment"; "a biting
              aphorism"; "pungent satire" [syn: {barbed}, {biting},
              {pungent}, {mordacious}]
       2: pleasantly cold and invigorating; "crisp clear nights and
          frosty mornings"; "a nipping wind"; "a nippy fall day";
          "snappy weather"; (`parky' is a British term) [syn: {crisp},
           {frosty}, {nippy}, {snappy}, {parky}]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  nipping
       See {nip}