drip

¹

[drip]

verb (used without object)

dripped, dript, dripping. 

1. to let drops fall; shed drops.

   This faucet drips.

2. to fall in drops, as a liquid.

   Synonyms: drizzle, sprinkle, leak, dribble, trickle

verb (used with object)

dripped, dript, dripping. 

1. to let fall in drops.

noun

1. an act of dripping.

2. liquid that drips.

3. the sound made by falling drops.

   the irritating drip of a faucet.

4. Slang.,  an unattractive, boring, or colorless person.

5. (in house painting) the accumulation of solidified drops of paint at the bottom of a painted surface.

6. Architecture, Building Trades.,  any device, as a molding, for shedding rainwater to keep it from running down a wall, falling onto the sill of an opening, etc.

7. a pipe for draining off condensed steam from a radiator, heat exchanger, etc.

8. Medicine/Medical.,  intravenous drip.

9. Slang.,  maudlin sentimentality.

DRIP

²

[dee-ahr-ahy-pee, drip]

abbreviation

Business, Finance.

1. dividend reinvestment plan: a program under which investors opt to have their dividends automatically applied to the purchase of more shares in the company, increasing their investment while avoiding commission charges.

drip

/ drɪp /

verb

1. to fall or let fall in drops

noun

1. the formation and falling of drops of liquid

2. the sound made by falling drops

3. architect a projection at the front lower edge of a sill or cornice designed to throw water clear of the wall below

4. informal,  an inane, insipid person

5. med

   1. the usually intravenous drop-by-drop administration of a therapeutic solution, as of salt or sugar

   2. the solution administered

   3. the equipment used to administer a solution in this way

Other Word Forms

• nondrip adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of drip¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English dryppe, Old English dryppan; drop

Origin of drip²

First recorded in 1975–80

Word History and Origins

Origin of drip¹

Old English dryppan, from dropa _drop

Example Sentences

An intravenous drip is hooked up to the wall next to Elkana.

Read more on BBC

The American Farm Bureau Federation says on its website that farmers can reduce water use by up to 40% by getting moisture directly to each plant through drip irrigation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

CR Coffee Shop in the New Orleans area raised the price of a cup of drip coffee from $3.35 to $3.65 in late September because of higher wholesale prices.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“They are showing that hell that is Portland,” he said, his voice dripping with irony.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

To ready her body, she ordered in Japanese last night, then had somebody administer an IV vitamin drip as she thumbed through an issue of the New Yorker.

Read more on Los Angeles Times