to drink (a liquid) a little at a time; take small tastes of.
He sipped the hot tea noisily.
to drink from a little at a time.
The bird sipped the flower.
to take in; absorb.
to sip knowledge at its source.
an instance of sipping; a small taste of a liquid.
One sip told me that the milk was sour.
a small quantity taken by sipping.
Take just a sip, not a gulp or a swallow.
a small quantity of a liquid taken into the mouth and swallowed
an act of sipping
See drink.
1350–1400; Middle English sippen (v.), akin to Low German sippen to sip
When you drink a small amount of something, you sip it. If your cocoa is extremely hot, you should probably sip it until it cools off a little bit. You may sit in a corner and sip your punch at a dull party, but when your long hike leaves you parched, it's hard to sip from your water bottle instead of guzzling. As a noun sip means "small drink," like a sip of Coke or a sip of soup. The origin of sip isn't clear, though we know it's related to the Old English supan, "take into the mouth a little at a time."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He also writes the Weekend Sip column, which covers wine, spirits and beer.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
At Gus’ Sip & Dip, a newly opened tavern in Chicago that specializes in cocktails and French dip sandwiches, co-owner Bob Broskey offers “Gus’ Coins,” to regulars, which allows them to skip the line.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Sip on boba at the park We might do some retail therapy.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2025
Mama Bouhenni, working at the nearby Sip & Scoop coffee shop as the incident unfolded, told the BBC she saw dozens of people from surrounding buildings being evacuated.
From BBC • Jul. 29, 2025
Sip did not answer their question; saying only, blankly, “I’s already a free man.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
