sip
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to drink (a liquid) a little at a time; take small tastes of.
He sipped the hot tea noisily.
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to drink from a little at a time.
The bird sipped the flower.
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to take in; absorb.
to sip knowledge at its source.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
an instance of sipping; a small taste of a liquid.
One sip told me that the milk was sour.
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a small quantity taken by sipping.
Take just a sip, not a gulp or a swallow.
verb
noun
-
a small quantity of a liquid taken into the mouth and swallowed
-
an act of sipping
Related Words
See drink.
Other Word Forms
- sipper noun
- sippingly adverb
- unsipped adjective
Etymology
Origin of sip
1350–1400; Middle English sippen (v.), akin to Low German sippen to sip
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Coffee and fruit is a popular pairing among Vietnam’s younger drinkers, including those inside Blackbird’s Old Quarter location, where teens and 20-somethings sip espresso drinks spiked with banana, mango, pomegranate, kumquat, sugar cane and more.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
A street away, at "Chacho's" cafe, customers in sunglasses sip lattes and matcha tea.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
Girl Scouts sing carols as onlookers sip cocoa at the annual lighting ceremony.
From Salon • Dec. 24, 2025
I would sip ice-cold cordial and suck ice lollies to keep dehydration at bay the best I could.
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025
“She knows,” I said, taking a sip of my coffee; somehow cold it was more palatable than it had been hot.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
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.
