What does nixing mean?
Nixing means putting an end to something before it can develop or succeed. It is most often applied to a plan, proposal, project, or opportunity, as when officials announce that they have nixed a project or a committee rejects an idea. The verb can also mean spoiling someone's chances by interfering with their work or preventing them from proceeding. Nix is strongly informal and is especially common in American English, including political and journalistic contexts, where it conveys a decisive and often unsympathetic cancellation. Although it can sound blunt or dismissive, it is also widely used in conversation to describe routine decisions, such as nixing a holiday idea or canceling a proposed meeting. The related verb nix is the standard base form, while nixing supplies the usual present-participle form in continuous constructions.
verbTo put an end to something, especially a plan or proposal, or to spoil its chances of succeeding.
- To put an end to a plan, proposal, or opportunity, especially before it proceeds.
- To spoil or ruin someone's chances, efforts, or work.
"The committee nixed the proposal before it could be debated."
"The mayor nixed the proposed parking garage."
"Bad weather nixed our plans for a picnic."
To nix a plan is to kill it before it has a chance to live.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nixing come from?
Nixing is an informal American extension of nix, a dialectal verb meaning to ruin, spoil, or put an end to. The underlying origin of nix is not securely established, and etymological accounts have proposed several uncertain connections. In modern usage, nix has become especially prominent in political, business, and journalistic language.
Related word forms
How nixing is actually used
This is an informal, mainly North American verb. It is especially associated with politics, business, and everyday speech, and it often suggests abrupt cancellation or obstruction.
Easily confused with nixing
Nixing means putting a stop to something, whereas nicking means making a small cut or indentation in a surface.