1nip 
/ˈnɪp/ verb
nips; nipped; nip·ping /ˈnɪp/ verb 1 : to bite or pinch (someone or something) lightly [+ obj] ▪ The dog nipped my ankles. [no obj] — + at ▪ The dog nipped at my ankles. 2 [+ obj] US, sports : to defeat (someone or something) by a small amount
▪ The New York Mets nipped the Atlanta Braves 1–0. 3 always followed by an adverb or preposition [no obj] chiefly Brit, informal : to go to a place quickly or for a short period of time
▪ I had to nip back to my place. ▪ He nipped in ahead of me in line. ▪ He nipped into the store to buy milk. 4 : to harm or hurt (something) with cold [+ obj] ▪ An early frost nipped the crops. ▪ The cold wind was nipping my nose. [no obj] — + at ▪ The cold wind nipped at my nose.
▪ The New York Mets nipped the Atlanta Braves 1–0.
▪ I had to nip back to my place. ▪ He nipped in ahead of me in line. ▪ He nipped into the store to buy milk.
nip off [phrasal verb]
nip off (something) or nip (something) off : to remove (something) by squeezing it tightly between your fingers or the parts of a tool
▪ He nipped off the bud with his fingers. ▪ She nipped the dead branches off with her clippers.
▪ He nipped off the bud with his fingers. ▪ She nipped the dead branches off with her clippers.
nip (something) in the bud
informal : to stop (something) immediately so that it does not become a worse problem
▪ Inflation will only get worse if the government doesn't do something right now to nip it in the bud.
▪ Inflation will only get worse if the government doesn't do something right now to nip it in the bud.
