trickle
Americanverb (used without object)
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to flow or fall by drops, or in a small, gentle stream.
Tears trickled down her cheeks.
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to come, go, or pass bit by bit, slowly, or irregularly.
The guests trickled out of the room.
verb (used with object)
verb
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to run or cause to run in thin or slow streams
she trickled the sand through her fingers
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(intr) to move, go, or pass gradually
the crowd trickled away
noun
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a thin, irregular, or slow flow of something
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the act of trickling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tricklesimple
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tricklessimple
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have trickledperfect
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has trickledperfect
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am tricklingprogressive
-
are tricklingprogressive
-
is tricklingprogressive
-
have been tricklingperfect progressive
-
has been tricklingperfect progressive
Past
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trickledsimple
-
had trickledperfect
-
was tricklingprogressive
-
were tricklingprogressive
-
had been tricklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of trickle
1325–75; Middle English triklen, trekelen (v.), apparently sandhi variant of strikle, perhaps equivalent to strike (in obsolete sense “flow”) + -le
Explanation
To trickle is to weakly flow out of something, like a faucet. A trickle is like a drip. There are a lot of ways water can flow, but one type of slow dripping is called trickling. If your shower is only releasing a trickle of water, you're not going to get much of a shower. If it's raining — but only a trickle — you might not need an umbrella. A slightly leaky roof is trickling. A trickle is the opposite of a downpour or flood. Trickling can also be called dribbling.
Vocabulary lists containing trickle
Vocabulary: A Rapper's Delight!
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Chuck Berry (1926-2017) Tribute List
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Lyrical Vocabulary, Volume II
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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.
Can you detect a discernible aesthetic difference between, say, Trickle and Viper, two popular bots in the scene?
From The Verge • May 25, 2022
Newbury Park 7, El Camino Real 2: In the Babe Herman tournament, the Panthers received two hits apiece from Jake Trickle and Max Amador for the home victory.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2022
Dick Trickle is the oldest Xfinity Series pole winner in track history, qualifying first at 57 years, 7 months, 9 days in summer 1999.
From Reuters • May 2, 2019
Watt was raised in Wisconsin and said a seventh-grade teacher turned him onto the sport, specifically former driver Dick Trickle.
From Washington Times • Feb. 17, 2019
"Trickle and run," said Youngling, and so the Nut trickled and ran till the water gushed out of the hole in a stream, and in a short time the well was brimful.
From Tales of Wonder Every Child Should Know by Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith
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.
