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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

nipple.

The projection of a mammary gland from which, on female therian mammals, milk is secreted.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈnɪp.əl/[ˈnɪpʰ.əl] ~ [ˈnɪpʰ.l̩]
  1. The projection of a mammary gland from which, on female therian mammals, milk is secreted.

  2. The nipple (noun sense 1) and the areola together.

  3. A mechanical device through which liquids or gases can be passed in a regulated manner.

  4. An artificial nipple (noun sense 1) used for bottle-feeding infants.

  5. Any small physical protrusion, such as the lumps on the F and J keys on computer keyboards.

  6. Any small physical protrusion on an automotive, a machine part or any other part that fits into a groove on another part.

  7. A perforated segment that fits into part of the breech of a muzzle-loading gun, on which the percussion cap is fixed.

    historical
  8. A short tube threaded at both ends, used as a connector.

    US
  9. An internally threaded piece which holds a bicycle spoke in place on the rim.

    Turn the nipples on to the bicycle spokes only one turn, for each spoke on the new wheel all the way around until they are all snug, then check alignment.
  10. A pointing stick.

    humorous
Where this word comes from

From earlier neple, nypil, neble, believed to be a diminutive of nib, neb (“tip, point”), equivalent to nib + -le. Compare Old English nypel (“elephant trunk”), formed analogously as "a protuberance from one's neb" .

verb/ˈnɪp.əl/[ˈnɪpʰ.əl] ~ [ˈnɪpʰ.l̩]
  1. To fit (a baby's bottle, etc.) with a nipple.

    transitive
  2. To give one's nipple to (a baby) to allow breastfeeding.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From earlier neple, nypil, neble, believed to be a diminutive of nib, neb (“tip, point”), equivalent to nib + -le. Compare Old English nypel (“elephant trunk”), formed analogously as "a protuberance from one's neb" .

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.