verb
nipped, nipping
1
- with obj. pinch, squeeze, or bite sharply掐住; 压住; 紧紧咬住：
one of the dogs nipped him on the leg
其中一只狗一下咬住了他的腿
no obj. his teeth nipped at her ear.他的牙齿咬了她的耳朵。
1.1
- (of the cold or frost) cause sharp pain or harm to（寒冷, 霜冻）啮噬; 冻伤：
the vegetable garden, nipped now by frost.
现在被霜冻啮噬着的菜园。
1.2
nip something off
remove something by pinching or squeezing sharply掐去; 夹去。
2
- no obj., with adverbial of direction Brit. informal go quickly〈英, 非正式〉跑开：
I'm just nipping down to the Post Office.
我正一溜烟地向邮局跑去。
3
- with obj. US informal steal or snatch (something)〈美, 非正式〉悄悄地拿; 偷。
1
- a sharp pinch, squeeze, or bite紧紧一掐; 一夹; 一咬。
1.1
- a feeling of biting cold（严寒等的）刺骨：
there was a real winter nip in the air.
空气里有种真正刺骨的冬寒。
短语
in the nip
- Irish informal in the nude; naked〈爱尔兰, 非正式〉赤裸的; 裸体的。
nip something in the bud
- suppress or destroy something, especially at an early stage把（某物）扼杀在萌芽状态。
词源
late Middle English: probably of Low German or Dutch origin.
- a small quantity or sip of spirit一小口, 一抿（烈酒）。
(nipped, nipping)no obj.
- take a sip or sips of spirits一小口一小口地抿酒：
the men nipped from the bottle.
他们从瓶子里一小口一小口地抿酒喝。
词源
late 18th cent. （originally denoting a half-pint of ale）： probably an abbreviation of the rare term nipperkin 'small measure'; compare with Low German and Dutch nippen 'to sip'.