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English Phrase of the Day

nip in the bud



Definitions

English > English
nip in the bud
     1. v. To remove a bud from a plant to prevent flower and fruit from forming.
     2. v. To stop something at an early stage.
           If you see a bad habit begin to develop, try to nip it in the bud so that it does not become ingrained. Issues are easier to sort out the earlier they are addressed.
Analysis
Nip
     1. n. (slang) A Japanese person.
     2. adj. (slang) Japanese.
     3. n. A small quantity of something edible or a potable liquor.
           I’ll just take a nip of that cake.
           He had a nip of whiskey.
in
     1. prep. Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits.
     2. prep.          Contained by.
                   The dog is in the kennel.
     3. prep.          Within.
     4. prep.          Surrounded by.
the
     1. art. Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already
           I’m reading the book. (Compare I’m reading a book.)
           The street in front of your house. (Compare A street in Paris.)
           The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.
     2. art.          Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause.
Bud
     1. n. (informal) A Budweiser beer.
           I'd like a Bud, please.
     2. n. A newly sprouted leaf or blossom that has not yet unfolded.
           After a long, cold winter, the trees finally began to produce buds.
     3. n. (figuratively) Something that has begun to develop.

Example Sentences

But instead this foolishness which can only lead to trouble, which for the good of the team I must nip in the bud



Review previous phrases

plug inin timehere and thereabout to
have tospare timein any casespread out
service stationdried uphands offone fell swoop
back and forthgo inclock inblack market





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