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• sup
  sup

  interjection

  wassup.
• sup-
  sup-

  variant of sub- before p:
• sup.
  sup.

  abbreviation

  superior.

sup

¹ American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

Or 'sup

interjection

Slang.

1. wassup.

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sup ² American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

verb (used without object)

supped, supping

1. to eat the evening meal; have supper.

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verb (used with object)

supped, supping

1. to provide with or entertain at supper.

sup ³ American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

verb (used with object)

supped, supping

1. to take (liquid food, or any liquid) into the mouth in small quantities, as from a spoon or cup; sip.

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verb (used without object)

supped, supping

1. to take liquid into the mouth in small quantities, as by spoonfuls or sips.

noun

1. a mouthful or small portion of drink or liquid food; sip.

sup ⁴ American  

[soop] / sup /

noun

Mathematics.

1. supremum. See least upper bound.

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sup- ⁵ American  

1. variant of sub- before p:

   suppose.

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sup. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. superior.

2. superlative.

3. supine.

4. supplement.

5. supplementary.

6. supply.

7. supra.

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sup ¹ British  

/ sʌp /

verb

1. to partake of (liquid) by swallowing a little at a time

2. dialect to drink

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noun

1. a sip

sup. ² British  

abbreviation

1. above

2. superior

3. grammar superlative

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sup ³ British  

/ sʌp /

verb

1. archaic (intr) to have supper

2. obsolete (tr) to provide with supper

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Etymology

Origin of sup¹

First recorded in 1985–90; by shortening

Origin of sup²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English s(o)upen, soupe, from Old French souper “to take supper,” from Germanic; compare Old English sūpan “to swallow, taste, sip”; see sup ³

Origin of sup³

First recorded before 900; Middle English s(o)uppen, soup(p)e, Old English sūpan; cognate with German saufen “to drink”; cf. sip, sop, soup, sup ²

Origin of sup⁴

First recorded in 1940–45; by shortening

Explanation

To sup is to eat slowly, by spoonfuls. When you eat soup, you probably sup it. You can really only sup soft foods and liquids, like oatmeal and milkshakes and miso soup. A sick person taking gingerly spoons of Jello into his mouth can be said to sup, and so can a hesitant baby eating tiny bites of pureed carrots. Sup essentially means "sip," and its root is the Old English sūpan, "to sip or swallow."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sup sup- sup. supped supping

Now, there is only three years to go until the pub rises again and thirsty regulars can sup a beer — or two.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

The door has been left ajar, funnelling an icy breeze into the bar where a small group of members sup pints.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2023

How can I best sup port my girlfriend?

From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2021

After a screening of the season’s first episode, guests repaired to the nearby Lobster Club to sup on buffets of sushi and pasta.

From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2020

“May I offer you both some sup and drink that we might be better acquainted?”

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson

“And what college is sup- posed to do is to allow you to live more fully in your time.”

From MSNBC ● Mar. 21, 2015

In Barn Dance, farm wives of 1850 prepare a picnic sup- per, children play and bicker, bashful hayseeds choose partners.

From Time Magazine Archive

No one sup- posed that the process would be so sudden and violent.

From New Forces in Old China An Inevitable Awakening by Brown, Arthur Judson

"Yes, Andre," I replied, "as long as the wind continues favorable the raft has decidedly the advantage; but sup- posing the wind shifts; what then?"

From The Survivors of the Chancellor by Verne, Jules

We insist that they know but little, and that even in that little which they are sup- posed to know, there is the possibility of error.

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 5 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Discussions by Ingersoll, Robert Green

How the man of war identifies himself with the remnant of those that shall sup. 2nd Troop.

From Cromwell by Richards, Alfred B.

Byz. in v. the district was originally called Δύμη, and the city Στράτος.280.Strab. ubi sup. cf.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 2 of 2 by Müller, Karl Otfried

Wesseling corrects Ἀλαῖος for Ἅλιος in Aristot. ubi sup. comp.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 1 of 2 by Müller, Karl Otfried

Manso, ubi sup., has taken the same view of the passage.470.Cic. de Leg. and de Rep. ubi sup.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 2 of 2 by Müller, Karl Otfried

See Benfey's parallels, ut. sup. pp. 497-98, and Grimm, No. 87, notes.

From Italian Popular Tales by Crane, Thomas Frederick

Mr McCann added that he and his wife had "supped with the Devil" by working with the Sun in 2011, in order to have the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance reviewed - illustrating the newspaper's influence.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025

To the north at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, the campus’ Hillel organization recently welcomed several Ukrainian students to a Shabbat dinner, where they supped on matzo ball soup and deli sandwiches.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2022

I have drunk the legendary Vietnamese coffee and supped the sulphurous vegetable broth on the collapsing sofas.

From The Verge ● Mar. 31, 2018

However, she added: “There are clearly questions to be answered about the various relationships that developed afterwards and whether the UK supped with a sufficiently long spoon.”

From The Guardian ● May 31, 2016

We supped together in the kitchen, only the two of us and the parrot because Father had dismissed the other servants.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Apparently, someone gave him a job fairly soon because within a few chapters Tucci is supping at glamorous restaurants in far-flung locales like Vancouver, Normandy and Reykjavik.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 8, 2021

This was the modern-day equivalent of supping from Mr Bannon’s gilded skull.

From Economist ● Jan. 11, 2018

“What I didn’t realize is that supping with them would actually have a broader impact on how the world sees me as a scientist,” he said.

From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2016

But the women were rewarded with the sight of two bright orange sulfur butterflies and a cluster of Western tiger swallowtail supping on teasel flowers.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 9, 2016

Taryn and I hear things, even if no one means for us to—stories of humans sleeping on stone floors and eating refuse, believing themselves to be resting on feather beds and supping on delicacies.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black