What does nipped mean?
Nipped is the past tense and past participle of “nip,” a verb meaning to bite or pinch lightly, usually with the teeth or fingers. As an adjective, it can describe something that has been bitten or pinched, as in “the dog nipped my hand,” or something harmed by cold, as in “nipped by the frost.” Its most familiar figurative use is in the phrase “nipped in the bud,” meaning that a plan, opportunity, or promising development was stopped before it could fully develop. The word often conveys a sudden, small, but definite injury or interruption. Although “nip” can also mean a small amount, as in “a nip of salt,” “nipped” is principally used for the physical action of biting or pinching and for the effects of severe cold. In formal and informal writing alike, “nipped in the bud” is a vivid, idiomatic way of saying that something was prevented at an early stage.
Bitten or pinched; harmed or damaged by cold; or stopped or prevented at an early stage.
"The young shoots were nipped by the frost."
The idiom “nipped in the bud” is the best-known figurative use.
The past tense and past participle of “nip,” meaning to bite or pinch lightly, or to affect with cold.
"She nipped the wire with her pliers."
Used in both simple past and past-participle constructions.
A promising plan can be “nipped in the bud”—stopped before it has a chance to grow.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nipped come from?
The word comes from the English verb “nip,” whose deeper origin is uncertain. The verb has long been used for biting or pinching sharply and for affecting something with cold. The adjective and participial form “nipped” developed alongside these uses and later became especially prominent in figurative expressions such as “nipped in the bud.”
Related word forms
How nipped is actually used
The adjective is especially common in the established expression “nipped in the bud,” meaning prevented or stopped at an early stage. “Nipped” is also used attributively and predicatively, while the verb form is standard in ordinary English.
Easily confused with nipped
“Nipped” is the standard past-tense and past-participle form of “nip”; “nurtured” is the opposite of “nipped in the bud.”