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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Nipping \Nip"ping\, adjective Biting; pinching; painful; destructive; as, a nipping frost; a nipping wind.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Nip \Nip\, verb (used with an object) [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.
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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
nip
noun
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}]
verb
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
adjective
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}
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |