nip

1 the quality or state of being stimulating to the mind or senses the barbecue sauce has a nip to it that balances out the sweetness Synonyms nip, pungency, spice, tang, zest, zingRelated Words raciness, spiciness; fieriness, hotness; acuteness, keenness, sharpness; provocativeness; excitement, invigoration, stimulant, stimulation, stimulus, thrill; bitterness, mordance, trenchancy; flavor, redolence, savor (also savour), savoriness, tastinessNear Antonyms flatness, tastelessness; dullness (also dulness), insipidity, monotonousness, monotony, platitude, predictability, sameness, tediousness; blandness, thinness, weaknessAntonyms insipidity

2 a very small amount I'll have just a nip of your sandwich Synonyms ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, hint, lick, little, mite, nip, ounce, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smack, smell, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), snap, soupçon, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch, traceRelated Words hoot, iota, jot, minim, minimum, modicum, semblance, syllable, tittle, vestige, whit; atom, dot, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, patch, scrap; dash, drop, pinch; part, portion, section; bite, nibble, taste; handful, scattering, smatter, smattering; dose, shot; chip, flake, fragment, shard, shiver, sliver, smithereens, splinter; shred, tatter; clipping, paring, shavingNear Antonyms abundance, barrel, boatload, bucket, bundle, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, lashings (also lashins) [chiefly British], loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, oodles, passel, peck, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, wad, wealth; volume; bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus; chunk, hunk, lump, slab

3 an uncomfortable degree of coolness there's a nip in the air today Synonyms bite, bitterness, bleakness, chilliness, nip, nippiness, rawness, sharpnessRelated Words briskness, crispness; coldness, frigidity, frigidness, frostiness, gelidity, iciness, wintriness; cold, freeze, snapNear Antonyms balminess, warmness, warmth; heat, hotness, sultriness

the portion of a serving of a beverage that is swallowed at one time give me just a nip of milk to help me swallow this pill Synonyms belt, draft, drag, gulp, nip, quaff, shot, sip, slug, snort, sup, swallow, swig, swillRelated Words dram, drop

1 to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument I'm just going to nip these hedges, and then I'll be done with the work outside Synonyms bob, crop, cut, cut back, dock, lop (off), clip, pare, poll, prune, shave, shear, snip, trimRelated Words skive, whittle; manicure, mow; pinch, stump; curtail, shortenNear Antonyms elongate, extend, lengthen

2 to squeeze tightly between two surfaces, edges, or points the puppy nipped her hand while playing Synonyms pinchRelated Words crimp, tweak; clasp, clutch, grasp, grip, hold, takeNear Antonyms drop, free, loose, loosen, release, spring

3 to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep that guy nipped my wallet from the restaurant table when I turned away Synonyms appropriate, boost [slang], filch, heist, hook, lift, misappropriate, nick [British slang], steal, pilfer, pinch, pocket, purloin, rip off, snitch, swipe, thieveRelated Words burglarize, knock over, rob; loot, pillage, plunder, sack; carjack, hijack (also highjack); pick, rifle; poach, rustle, shoplift; collar, grab, grasp, nail, seize, snatch, take; mooch, sponge; abduct, kidnap, shanghai, spiritNear Antonyms buy, purchase; bestow, contribute, donate, give, hand over, present

4 to proceed or move quickly I'll just nip off to the corner store for some milk Synonyms barrel, belt, blast, blaze, blow, bolt, bomb [slang], bowl, breeze, bundle, bustle, buzz, cannonball, careen, career, chase, course, crack (on), dash, drive, fly, hare, hasten, hie, highball, hotfoot (it), hump, hurl, hurtle, hustle, jet, jump, motor, hurry, pelt, race, ram, rip, rocket, run, rush, rustle, scoot, scurry, scuttle, shoot, speed, step, tear, travel, trot, whirl, whisk, zip, zoomRelated Words beetle, dart, flit, scamper, scud, scuffle; stampede, streak, whiz (or whizz); gallop, jog, sprint; accelerate, quicken, step out; catch up, fast-forward, outpace, outrun, outstrip, overtake; arrow, beelineNear Antonyms dally, dawdle, dillydally, drag, hang (around or out), lag, linger, loiter, poke, tarry; amble, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stroll; decelerate, slow (down or up)Antonyms crawl, creep, poke