nip
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Squeeze tightly between the fingers.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
nipIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈnɪp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Squeeze tightly between the fingers
To catch and enclose or compress tightly between two surfaces, or points which are brought together or closed; to pinch; to close in upon.
Sever or remove by pinching or snipping
To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting edges of anything; to clip.
To benumb [e.g., cheeks, fingers, nose] by severe cold.
To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor of; to destroy.
noun
A small sharp bite or snip
A playful bite.
A pinch with the nails or teeth.
Briskly cold weather.
A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching
A small cut, or a cutting off the end.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Squeeze tightly between the fingers
Used this way, nip is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use nip
- “The Queen's corgis always nip at her staff's ankles.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.