nip in the bud

Definitions

1. To remove a bud (from a plant) to prevent flower and fruit from forming.
2. To stop something at an early stage.
   idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“If you see⟳ a bad habit begin⟳ to develop⟳, try⟳ to nip it in the bud so that it does not become⟳ ingrained.”

“Ori. I do confeſs I'm too eaſie, too much Woman, / Not coy enough to take⟳ Affection, / Yet I can frown and nip a Paſſion, / Even in the Bud: I can ſay / Men pleaſe their preſent Heats; then pleaſe to leave⟳ Us.”

““I couldn’t be any more upset⟳,” said Inge Bank, 82, who lives near the bar. “We have⟳ to nip it in the bud if the Nazi party is coming back.”

“These myths need⟳ to be nipped in the bud before they become⟳ conventional wisdom.”

CEFR level