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# nipping

«nipping» in Mova's school dictionary: **Giving a quick, small bite or pinch** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

verb form (present participle of nip: nip, nips, nipped, nipping)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Giving a quick, small bite or pinch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#m1)

2) (of cold) Biting or stinging, as in "a nipping wind". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#m2)

3) (UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ, informal) Going somewhere quickly for a short time, as in "nipping out to the shop". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#m3)

4) (with "in the bud") Stopping something before it grows bigger. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

Everyday: a puppy nipping fingers, a crab nipping toes; in British talk, "I'm just nipping to the loo". In stories, a nipping wind or frost tells the reader it is very cold. Phrases: "nip out", "nip in the bud", "nip and tuck" (very close, in a race).

### examples

- The puppy keeps nipping at my socks. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#x1)
- I'm just nipping out to the corner shop. (UK) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#x2)
- A crab was nipping at his toe. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#x3)
- The nipping wind made our ears red. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#x4)
- Mum is nipping to the post office, back in five minutes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#x5)
- Stop the teasing now and nip it in the bud. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#x6)
- The frost was nipping the young plants. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/#x7)

### note

Spelling: double p before -ing and -ed (nip, nipping, nipped). Related adjective "nippy" (UK: cold, chilly; also quick). Not the same as "napping" (sleeping briefly).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «nipping» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nipping/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.