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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.

Had a military coup been nipped in the bud?

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

He says he wants concerns "nipped in the bud"

From BBC • May 16, 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

“This needs to be nipped in the bud right now before it happens again.”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 16, 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



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