nipped in the bud
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It needs to be nipped in the bud because today's petty thief is tomorrow's bank robber," he says.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
Had a military coup been nipped in the bud?
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026
An idea that most everyone else at the company was embarrassed to be associated with was nipped in the bud.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2023
Ideally, it should have been nipped in the bud when the first cases appeared in May and June outside West and Central Africa, where monkeypox has been endemic for decades.
From Washington Post • Jul. 15, 2022
Clearly, the situation had to be nipped in the bud, for any change in the day’s schedule risked throwing off the careful precision of the plan Penelope and Simon had devised.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
