nip in the bud

Idioms and Phrases

Halt something at an early stage, or thoroughly check something. For example, By arresting all the leaders, they nipped the rebellion in the bud . This metaphoric expression, alluding to a spring frost that kills flower buds, was first recorded in a Beaumont and Fletcher play of 1606–1607.

Example Sentences

This is a rare emergent epidemic that we can still nip in the bud.

From Salon

The response of Karen Ward, a respected City economist who serves on the chancellor's council of advisers that the Bank of England "has to create a recession" partly to "nip in the bud" a spiral of wages going up and in turn pushing up prices, and then pushing up wages again.

From BBC

In the past three decades, the Chinese Communist Party has spent immense sums on “stability maintenance,” a budget item for funding not only police and prisons but also a legion of “thought workers” who blanket the country to nip in the bud any possible threat to CCP authority.

From Washington Post

“When you don’t punish these crimes — then you know gradually the severity of the offenses escalates or nip in the bud and that’s why you’re seeing these truly horrifying events,” California Assembly Kevin Kiley told Los Angeles CBS 2.

From Washington Times

Ms. Parrish said in her complaint to the N.L.R.B. that Apple had fired her to “nip in the bud” her organizing efforts.

From New York Times