1. To give (someone or something) little bites. Their dog kept nipping on my heels whenever I walked through the house. I felt some nipping on my toes during the night, and I absolutely freaked out

2. To take small, frequent sips of some drink, especially alcohol. I caught my grandma nipping on a flask, which she tried to pretend had medicine inside of it. He nipped at a bottle of whiskey to help keep warm as he trudged through the snow.

1. To give (someone or something) little bites. Their dog kept nipping at my heels whenever I walked through the house. I know some people go crazy for the treatment, but I can't stand the feeling of fish nipping at my feet!

2. To sting (a part of one's body) with cold. The air had just started nipping at our noses by the time we reached the house. There's nothing like settling down in front of a fire with a hot drink after the cold wind has been nipping at your cheeks on a long, satisfying bike ride.

1. To give someone's or something's toes little ineffectual bites. Their dog kept nipping on my toes whenever I walked through the house. I know some people go crazy for the treatment, but I can't stand the feeling of fish nipping on my toes!

2. By extension, to be very close behind someone or something in rank, score, ability, etc. This underdog team has been nipping on the reigning champions' toes since the very beginning of the match. As technology has improved and become more cost effective, 3D printing has been nipping on the toes of the traditional crafting and manufacturing processes.

1. To give someone's or something's heels little ineffectual bites. Their dog kept nipping on my heels whenever I walked through the house. I know some people go crazy for the treatment, but I can't stand the feeling of fish nipping on my heels!

2. By extension, to be very close behind someone or something in rank, score, ability, etc. This underdog team has been nipping on the reigning champions' heels since the very beginning of the match. As technology has improved and become more cost effective, 3D printing has been nipping on the heels of the traditional crafting and manufacturing processes.

1. To very quickly or discreetly depart (to some place), especially for a short length of time. I need to nip off to the store to get some milk—do we need anything else? I think they nipped off to get some more party supplies. They should be back soon.

2. To sever something (from something else) by pinching, cutting, or snipping it. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "nip" and "off." With great charm and grace, he bent down, nipped off a rose from the bush, and presented it to his date. Just let me get my scissors and nip these hairs off that the barber missed.