soup

[soop]

noun

1. a liquid food made by boiling or simmering meat, fish, or vegetables with various added ingredients.

   Synonyms: potage, stock, broth

2. Slang.,  a thick fog.

3. Slang.,  added power, especially horsepower.

4. Slang.,  nitroglycerin.

5. Photography Slang.,  developing solution.

verb phrase

1. soup up

   1. to improve the capacity for speed or increase the efficiency of (a motor or engine) by increasing the richness of the fuel mixture or the efficiency of the fuel, or by adjusting the engine.

   2. to give spirit or vivacity to; enliven.

      a political rally souped up by the appearance of the candidates.

soup

/ suːp /

noun

1. a liquid food made by boiling or simmering meat, fish, vegetables, etc, usually served hot at the beginning of a meal

2. informal,  a photographic developer

3. informal,  anything resembling soup in appearance or consistency, esp thick fog See also peasouper

4. a slang name for nitroglycerine

5. informal,  in trouble or difficulties

Other Word Forms

• soupless adjective
• souplike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of soup¹

1645–55; 1940–45 soup for def. 6; < French soupe, Old French souppe, sope < Germanic; compare Dutch sopen to dunk. See sop

Word History and Origins

Origin of soup¹

C17: from Old French soupe, from Late Latin suppa, of Germanic origin; compare Middle High German suppe, Old Norse soppa soup

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in the soup, in trouble.

   He'll be in the soup when the truth comes out.

2. from soup to nuts,

   1. from the first through the last course of a meal.

   2. from beginning to end; to a complete, encompassing degree; leaving nothing out.

More idioms and phrases containing soup

• duck soup
• from soup to nuts
• in the soup
• thick as thieves (pea soup)

Example Sentences

Once hunted extensively for turtle soup, its eggs as a delicacy and decorative shells, the ancient mariner saw its numbers plummet and has been listed as endangered since the 1980s.

Read more on BBC

Retailers often have a slew of suppliers to satisfy their fresh food needs, using for instance one supplier for soup, another for grilled chicken products and a third for potato salad, analysts said.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“It’s like my bowl of chicken noodle soup,” she said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The water was followed by a trip to the kitchen, where, wrapped in the quilt, I slumped into a chair while she hastily prepared a bowl of vegetable soup.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They also found human skulls fashioned into soup bowls; lampshades and costumes made from human skin; and mutilated female body parts, among other nightmare fuel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• circumstance 
• crisis 
• deadlock 
• dilemma 
• hardship 
• imbroglio 
• impasse 
• mess 
• plight 
• posture 
• quagmire 
• quandary