Meanings
comparative more nippily · superlative most nippily
- In a nippy way; quickly.
I nippily learned that they could tidy away twice the amount of liquor we manly-men could without getting drunk.
2014, Richard L. Cañas, SHIFT - The End of the War on Drugs, The Beginning of the War on Terrorism1 more example
With one class of boat, and continual practice under similar conditions, it is surprising to see how the boats are handled, how nippily the live ballast finds its place when gybing, how rapidly the canvas is taken in or set —a very important function, for the winds in the bay are treacherous and uncertain, the most favourable being hard north-easters.
1899, Robert Taylor Pritchett, Pen and Pencil Sketches of Shipping and Craft All Round the World
Origin
From nippy + -ly, equivalent to nip + -ily.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with nippily
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
nippily. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nippily
“nippily.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nippily. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nippily,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nippily.
Source: nippily on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.