Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Tending to nip.
  • adjective Sharp or biting.
  • adjective Bitingly cold.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Biting; sharp; acid: as, ginger has a nippy taste.
  • Curt in manner; snappy or snappish.
  • Parsimonious; niggardly.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pleasantly cold and invigorating; -- of weather conditions.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective informal Of the weather, rather cold.
  • adjective informal fast; speedy

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective a sharp biting taste
  • adjective pleasantly cold and invigorating

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

nip +‎ -y

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Examples

  • The 28-year-old's performance against the West Indians won praise from Windies captain Chris Gayle, who labelled the nippy left-hand speedster the most potent of the Australian attack to feature in Perth.

    Daily News & Analysis 2009

  • The 28-year-old's performance even won praise from Windies captain Chris Gayle, who labelled the nippy left-hand speedster the most potent of the Australian attack to feature in Perth.

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2009

  • The 28-year-old's performance against the West Indians won praise from Windies captain Chris Gayle, who labelled the nippy left-hand speedster the most potent of the Australian attack to feature in Perth.

    Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7 2009

  • The 28-year-old's performance against the West Indians won praise from Windies captain Chris Gayle, who labelled the nippy left-hand speedster the most potent of the Australian attack to feature in Perth.

    Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7 2009

  • Sometimes the euphoria can last up to two months or so, then those who have been held captive become more irritable and 'nippy'.

    Paul and Rachel Chandler: a period of decompression is needed James Meikle 2010

  • | Reply | Permalink but during her questions to Obama at his press conference, did anyone notice her reaction to the weather over there ... it was rather "nippy" or least her nipples reacted that way.

    Polls: Europe Hearts Obama 2009

  • Oh, and it's -5 out, which is kind of nippy for Embra.

    Making Light: Snowpocalypse Part Next 2009

  • I smoked for a bit, but it was getting kind of nippy, so I went for a walk.

    Cargo of Eagles Allingham, Margery, 1904-1966. n 50021032-1 1968

  • I smoked for a bit, but it was getting kind of nippy, so I went for a walk.

    Cargo of Eagles Allingham, Margery, 1904-1966. n 50021032-1 1968

  • As it’s still kind of nippy at night, I thought the bottle of Scotch might be effective heating … especially if you get bored lighting fires every evening.

    The Pursuit of Happiness Douglas Kennedy 2001

Comments

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  • In the dining-car they were served by broad-hipped Czech nippies with tired faces and untreated hair.

    —Julian Barnes, 1996, 'Tunnel', in Cross Channel

    (Often specifically in reference to the waitresses of Lyons teashops.)

    July 14, 2008