Meaning
- check something thoroughly.
- stop something in its early stages of development so it does not get worse.
- stop something right there before it gains momentum.
- cut short
- cut off
- abort
- to suppress a behavior or idea.
Examples in Sentences
- The army arrested all the leaders and successfully nipped the rebellion in the bud.
- Doctors can nip any serious illness in the bud if they detect it early enough.
- Bad habits in children must be nipped in the bud.
- The local council declined to offer a music license, nipping the idea in the bud.
- John had incipient school problems, but they were nipped in the bud.
- Someone had already made that decision, but we nipped it in the bud because of budget constraints.
- Beth continually steered the conversation toward environmental concerns. However, after showing her our most recent data, we nipped that in the bud.
- The scheme was to give every pensioner a free travel pass. Yet, the government nipped it in the bud, saying it was too expensive.
- We must nip the money problems in the bud to avoid getting into real trouble.
- Inflation will worsen if the government fails to do anything to nip it in the bud.
- The economy is improving. However, renewed Fed tightening might nip the recovery in the bud.
Origin
The idiom "nip something in the bud" alludes to de-budding a plant. The phrase's earlier version was "nip in the bloom." It is cited in a picaresque romance written by Henry Chettle in 1595: The current version of the phrase first appeared in 1607, in a comedy of manners called The Hungry Courtier or The Woman Hater by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher.
