dip
1to plunge (something, as a cloth or sponge) temporarily into a liquid, so as to moisten it, dye it, or cause it to take up some of the liquid: He dipped the brush into the paint bucket.
to raise or take up by a bailing, scooping, or ladling action: to dip water out of a boat; to dip ice cream from a container.
to lower and raise: to dip a flag in salutation.
to immerse (a sheep, hog, etc.) in a solution to destroy germs, parasites, or the like.
to make (a candle) by repeatedly plunging a wick into melted tallow or wax.
Nautical. to lower and rehoist (a yard of a lugsail) when coming about in tacking.
Archaic. to baptize by immersion.
Obsolete. to moisten or wet as if by immersion.
to plunge into water or other liquid and emerge quickly: The boat dipped into the waves.
to put the hand, a dipper, etc., down into a liquid or a container, especially in order to remove something (often followed by in or into): He dipped into the jar for an olive.
to withdraw something, especially in small amounts (usually followed by in or into): to dip into savings.
to sink or drop down: The sun dipped below the horizon.
to incline or slope downward: At that point the road dips into a valley.
to decrease slightly or temporarily: Stock-market prices often dip on Fridays.
to engage slightly in a subject (often followed by in or into): to dip into astronomy.
to read here and there in a book, subject, or author's work (often followed by in or into): to dip into Plato.
South Midland and Southern U.S. to take snuff.
the act of dipping.
that which is taken up by dipping.
a quantity taken up by dipping; the amount that a scoop, ladle, dipper, etc., will hold.
a scoop of ice cream.
Chiefly Northern U.S. a liquid or soft substance into which something is dipped.
a creamy mixture of savory foods for scooping with potato chips, crackers, and the like, often served as an hors d'oeuvre, especially with cocktails.
a momentary lowering; a sinking down.
a moderate or temporary decrease: a dip in stock-market prices.
a downward extension, inclination, slope, or course.
the amount of such extension.
a hollow or depression in the land.
a brief swim: She took a dip in the ocean and then sat on the beach for an hour.
Geology, Mining. the downward inclination of a vein or stratum with reference to the horizontal.
the angular amount by which the horizon lies below the level of the eye.
Also called angle of dip, inclination, magnetic dip, magnetic inclination. the angle that a freely rotating magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon.
a short, downward plunge, as of an airplane.
a candle made by repeatedly dipping a wick into melted tallow or wax.
Gymnastics. an exercise on the parallel bars in which the elbows are bent until the chin is on a level with the bars, and then the body is elevated by straightening the arms.
Slang. a pickpocket.
Idioms about dip
at the dip, Nautical. not fully raised; halfway up the halyard: an answering pennant flown at the dip.: Compare close (def. 75b).
Origin of dip
1synonym study For dip
Other words for dip
Other words from dip
- dip·pa·ble, adjective, noun
- un·dipped, adjective
Words Nearby dip
Other definitions for dip (2 of 4)
Origin of dip
2Other definitions for dip (3 of 4)
a naive, foolish, or obnoxious person.
Origin of dip
3Other definitions for DIP (4 of 4)
a packaged chip that connects to a circuit board by means of pins.
Origin of DIP
4Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use dip in a sentence
Like many of us who just want to go for a dip on a hot afternoon, he created the idea when looking to cool off on a hot summer day.
No Plans This Weekend? No Problem! This App Lets You Rent Other People’s Pools | Charli Penn | September 4, 2020 | Essence.comThe dip follows thirteen quarters of positive but low growth rates.
Africa’s largest economy has suffered its worst contraction in over a decade | Yomi Kazeem | August 24, 2020 | QuartzThe dip in his usage rate has also tracked with James’ scoring and effective field-goal percentage.
What Can LeBron’s Previous Top-Seeded Teams Tell Us About This One? | Andres Waters | August 18, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThe S&P 500, a benchmark that tracks 500 large US-listed stocks, is back to its January levels after a big dip around the time that Covid-19 first hit the US.
At each cycle the deposited CNTs are fixed in place, and the next dip has the same rapid deposition rate as a freshly-soaked wafer.
Carbon Nanotube Transistors May Soon Give Waning Moore’s Law a Boost | Edd Gent | June 1, 2020 | Singularity Hub
These brave souls took an icy dip in the ocean to ring in 2015 and raise money for charity.
Diving Into 2015 With Polar Bear Plunge Extremists | James Joiner | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTKirkman does dip into metaphor here, as telephones are a symbol of our connection with one another.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero | Regina Lizik | October 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt was a slight dip in the demo or a slight dip in the total audience.
In fact, 40 percent of adults will dip below the poverty line at some point in their lives.
Meathead spat another long stream of dip juice into the wedding china.
Short Stories from The Daily Beast: Four Hundred Grand | Elliot Ackerman | July 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThank you for nothing, Reginald; however, I shall certainly take a dip in the lucky-bag at the Castle.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsI'll take a dip myself, just to be companionable, and tomorrow morning we can get back to any size you like.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. CarrylNight, high on her spangled throne, watches the sun dip down behind the Libyan sands.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodThe dip of the south end of the needle at Goulburn Island was 27 degrees 32 1/2 minutes.
In eating bread with meat, never dip it into the gravy on your plate, and then bite the end off.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence Hartley
British Dictionary definitions for dip (1 of 2)
/ (dɪp) /
to plunge or be plunged quickly or briefly into a liquid, esp to wet or coat
(intr) to undergo a slight decline, esp temporarily: sales dipped in November
(intr) to slope downwards: the land dips towards the river
(intr) to sink or appear to sink quickly: the sun dipped below the horizon
(tr) to switch (car headlights) from the main to the lower beam: US and Canadian word: dim
(tr)
to immerse (poultry, sheep, etc) briefly in a liquid chemical to rid them of or prevent infestation by insects, etc
to immerse (grain, vegetables, or wood) in a preservative liquid
(tr) to stain or dye by immersing in a liquid
(tr) to baptize (someone) by immersion
(tr) to plate or galvanize (a metal, etc) by immersion in an electrolyte or electrolytic cell
(tr) to scoop up a liquid or something from a liquid in the hands or in a container
to lower or be lowered briefly: she dipped her knee in a curtsy
(tr) to make (a candle) by plunging the wick into melted wax
(intr) to plunge a container, the hands, etc, into something, esp to obtain or retrieve an object: he dipped in his pocket for money
(intr; foll by in or into) to dabble (in); play (at): he dipped into black magic
(intr) (of an aircraft) to drop suddenly and then regain height
(intr) (of a rock stratum or mineral vein) to slope downwards from the horizontal
(intr often foll by for) (in children's games) to select (a leader, etc) by reciting any of various rhymes
(tr) slang to pick (a person's) pocket
the act of dipping or state of being dipped
a brief swim in water
any liquid chemical preparation in which poultry, sheep, etc are dipped
any liquid preservative into which objects, esp of wood, are dipped
a preparation of dyeing agents into which fabric is immersed
a depression, esp in a landscape
something taken up by dipping
a container used for dipping; dipper
a momentary sinking down
the angle of slope of rock strata, fault planes, etc, from the horizontal plane
Also called: angle of dip, magnetic dip, inclination the angle between the direction of the earth's magnetic field and the plane of the horizon; the angle that a magnetic needle free to swing in a vertical plane makes with the horizontal
a creamy mixture into which pieces of food are dipped before being eaten
surveying the angular distance of the horizon below the plane of observation
a candle made by plunging a wick repeatedly into wax
a momentary loss of altitude when flying
(in gymnastics) a chinning exercise on the parallel bars
a slang word for pickpocket
Origin of dip
1British Dictionary definitions for dip. (2 of 2)
diploma
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for dip
[ dĭp ]
The downward inclination of a rock stratum or vein in reference to the plane of the horizon.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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