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nib

/nɪb/
IPA guide

Other forms: nibs; nibbing

A nib is the point of a thing, such as a spear. More commonly it means the point of a pen, especially a fountain pen. Before ball points were invented, a common student problem was a pen with a broken nib.

The word nib comes from a 16th century word meaning the beak of a bird. In more modern times, nib has come to refer to the pieces of the cocoa bean that remain after it has been hulled, roasted, and crushed. Cocoa nibs are the very essence of what we think as chocolate, and yet, ironically, the cocoa nib needs sugar and cocoa butter to temper its bitterness.

Definitions of nib
  1. noun
    the writing point of a pen
    synonyms: pen nib
    see moresee less
    type of:
    point
    sharp end
  2. noun
    the projecting mouth of a bird
    synonyms: beak, bill, neb, pecker
    see moresee less
    types:
    cere
    the fleshy, waxy covering at the base of the upper beak of some birds
    type of:
    mouth
    the externally visible part of the oral cavity on the face and the system of organs surrounding the opening
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