nip

«nip» in Mova's school dictionary: To give a small, quick bite or pinch: «The puppy nipped… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (nip, nips, nipped, nipping); noun (a nip, nips)

meaning for a pupil

1) To give a small, quick bite or pinch: «The puppy nipped my finger». tree →

2) (UK, Ireland, Australia, informal) To go somewhere quickly for a short time: «I'll nip to the shop». tree →

3) (noun) A small bite or pinch. tree →

4) (noun) A feeling of cold: «a nip in the air». tree →

5) A small amount of a strong drink. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday British talk «nip out», «nip to the shops», «nip upstairs» mean to go quickly. In pet safety: puppies nip when playing; teach them gently. In weather: «There's a nip in the air» means it is getting cold, often in autumn. Phrase: «nip it in the bud» = stop a problem early. «Nip and tuck» = very close in a race.

examples

• The crab nipped my toe! tree →
• Our puppy nips when he gets excited. tree →
• I'll just nip to the shop for some milk. tree →
• There's a nip in the air this morning. tree →
• Can you nip upstairs and get my glasses? tree →
• The teacher nipped the argument in the bud. tree →
• The race was nip and tuck right to the end. tree →

note

Double «p» before -ed/-ing: nipped, nipping. «Nip» is smaller and lighter than «bite». «Nip out» meaning «go quickly» is British and Australian; Americans say «run out» or «pop out».

In the corpora

• Before passing a story on, check it: a small nip can become a horror story in three tellings.
• Grandad's sheepdog Bess nips Chloe's heels, herding her like a lost lamb, until Grandad whistles her off.
• Herding dogs like sheepdogs may nip at running children's heels from instinct; the owner should call the dog off.
• «Watch the twins while I nip to the shop,» says Mum.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «nip» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.