The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - nip°v.

1) bite, nibble; pinch, snip, clip, cut, snap, tweak, twitch, trim, lop, crop, shear; grip, squeeze: The dog nipped the postman's ankle. Nip off the suckers to promote healthy growth of the tomatoes. 2) nip in the bud. stop, arrest, check, thwart, frustrate, stymie, forestall; quash, squelch, suppress, extinguish, put down: The revolt of the army officers was nipped in the bud. --n. 3) bite, nibble, morsel, pinch, snip: The deer had taken nips off the tips of the shrubbery. 4) chill, coldness, iciness, sharpness, tang, bite: There's a definite wintry nip in the air tonight.