To spill a nip can hurt! (4)
I believe the answer is:
pain
'hurt' is the definition.
(paining is a kind of hurting)
'to spill a nip' is the wordplay.
'to spill' indicates anagramming the letters.
'a'+'nip'='anip'
'anip' is an anagram of 'PAIN'.
'can' is the link.
(Other definitions for pain that I've seen before include "Physical hurt" , "Suffering, distress" , "can cause discomfort" , "Sensation of hurt" , "French bread?" .)