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• dip
  dip

  verb (used with object)

  to 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.
• DIP
  DIP

  noun

  a packaged chip that connects to a circuit board by means of pins.
• dip.
  dip.

  abbreviation

  diploma

dip

¹ American  

[dip] / dɪp /

verb (used with object)

• dips,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dipped,
  past participle,  past
• dipt,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• dipping
  present participle

1. to 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.

   Synonyms:

   duck

2. 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.

   Synonyms:

   scoop

3. to lower and raise.

   to dip a flag in salutation.

4. to immerse (a sheep, hog, etc.) in a solution to destroy germs, parasites, or the like.

5. to make (a candle) by repeatedly plunging a wick into melted tallow or wax.

6. Nautical. to lower and rehoist (a yard of a lugsail) when coming about in tacking.

7. Archaic. to baptize by immersion.

8. Obsolete. to moisten or wet as if by immersion.

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verb (used without object)

• dips,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dipped,
  past participle,  past
• dipt,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• dipping
  present participle

1. to plunge into water or other liquid and emerge quickly.

   The boat dipped into the waves.

   Synonyms:

   dive

2. to put the hand, a dipper, etc., down into a liquid or a container, especially in order to remove something (often followed by in orinto ).

   He dipped into the jar for an olive.

3. to withdraw something, especially in small amounts (usually followed by in orinto ).

   to dip into savings.

4. to sink or drop down.

   The sun dipped below the horizon.

5. to incline or slope downward.

   At that point the road dips into a valley.

6. to decrease slightly or temporarily.

   Stock-market prices often dip on Fridays.

7. to engage slightly in a subject (often followed by in orinto ).

   to dip into astronomy.

8. to read here and there in a book, subject, or author's work (often followed by in orinto ).

   to dip into Plato.

9. South Midland and Southern U.S. to take snuff.

noun

1. the act of dipping.

2. that which is taken up by dipping.

3. a quantity taken up by dipping; the amount that a scoop, ladle, dipper, etc., will hold.

4. a scoop of ice cream.

5. Chiefly Northern U.S. a liquid or soft substance into which something is dipped.

6. 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.

7. a momentary lowering; a sinking down.

8. a moderate or temporary decrease.

   a dip in stock-market prices.

9. a downward extension, inclination, slope, or course.

10. the amount of such extension.

11. a hollow or depression in the land.

12. a brief swim.

    She took a dip in the ocean and then sat on the beach for an hour.

13. Geology, Mining. the downward inclination of a vein or stratum with reference to the horizontal.

14. the angular amount by which the horizon lies below the level of the eye.

15. Also called magnetic inclination, magnetic dip;, inclination, angle of dip. the angle that a freely rotating magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon.

16. a short, downward plunge, as of an airplane.

17. a candle made by repeatedly dipping a wick into melted tallow or wax.

18. 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.

19. Slang. a pickpocket.

idioms

1. at the dip, not fully raised; halfway up the halyard.

   an answering pennant flown at the dip.

dip ² American  

[dip] / dɪp /

noun

Slang.

1. dipsomaniac.

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dip ³ American  

[dip] / dɪp /

noun

Slang.

1. a naive, foolish, or obnoxious person.

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DIP ⁴ American  

[dip] / dɪp /

noun

Computers.

1. a packaged chip that connects to a circuit board by means of pins.

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dip ¹ British  

/ dɪp /

verb

1. to plunge or be plunged quickly or briefly into a liquid, esp to wet or coat

2. (intr) to undergo a slight decline, esp temporarily

   sales dipped in November

3. (intr) to slope downwards

   the land dips towards the river

4. (intr) to sink or appear to sink quickly

   the sun dipped below the horizon

5. US and Canadian word: dim. (tr) to switch (car headlights) from the main to the lower beam

6. (tr)

   1. to immerse (poultry, sheep, etc) briefly in a liquid chemical to rid them of or prevent infestation by insects, etc

   2. to immerse (grain, vegetables, or wood) in a preservative liquid

7. (tr) to stain or dye by immersing in a liquid

8. (tr) to baptize (someone) by immersion

9. (tr) to plate or galvanize (a metal, etc) by immersion in an electrolyte or electrolytic cell

10. (tr) to scoop up a liquid or something from a liquid in the hands or in a container

11. to lower or be lowered briefly

    she dipped her knee in a curtsy

12. (tr) to make (a candle) by plunging the wick into melted wax

13. (intr) to plunge a container, the hands, etc, into something, esp to obtain or retrieve an object

    he dipped in his pocket for money

14. (intr; foll by in or into) to dabble (in); play (at)

    he dipped into black magic

15. (intr) (of an aircraft) to drop suddenly and then regain height

16. (intr) (of a rock stratum or mineral vein) to slope downwards from the horizontal

17. (in children's games) to select (a leader, etc) by reciting any of various rhymes

18. slang (tr) to pick (a person's) pocket

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noun

1. the act of dipping or state of being dipped

2. a brief swim in water

3. 1. any liquid chemical preparation in which poultry, sheep, etc are dipped

   2. any liquid preservative into which objects, esp of wood, are dipped

4. a preparation of dyeing agents into which fabric is immersed

5. a depression, esp in a landscape

6. something taken up by dipping

7. a container used for dipping; dipper

8. a momentary sinking down

9. the angle of slope of rock strata, fault planes, etc, from the horizontal plane

10. 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

11. a creamy mixture into which pieces of food are dipped before being eaten

12. surveying the angular distance of the horizon below the plane of observation

13. a candle made by plunging a wick repeatedly into wax

14. a momentary loss of altitude when flying

15. (in gymnastics) a chinning exercise on the parallel bars

16. a slang word for pickpocket

dip. ² British  

abbreviation

1. diploma

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dip Scientific  

/ dĭp /

1. The downward inclination of a rock stratum or vein in reference to the plane of the horizon.

2. See magnetic inclination

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Usage

What is a basic definition of dip? Dip means to plunge something quickly in a liquid or to sink or go downward. A dip is a creamy mixture that chips or other foods are scooped into. Dip has many other senses as a verb and a noun. When something is dipped into a liquid, it is usually only submerged for a short time to soak up some liquid.

• Real-life examples: Candy or scoops of ice cream may be dipped in chocolate or caramel. A paint brush is dipped in paint. A thermometer might be dipped in a pool to measure temperature.
• Used in a sentence: I dipped my foot in the pool to see how cold it was. 

Dip can also mean to descend or go down, especially temporarily.

• Real-life examples: Temperatures dip when it becomes cold. Prices tend to dip during the holidays. A company’s stock value may dip.
• Used in a sentence: Oil prices dipped after the announcement of a new line of electric cars. 

Dips are creamy mixes that foods are dipped into. In this sense, another noun is often used as a modifier to specify what the main ingredients of the dip are, as in a cheese dip or a buffalo chicken dip. Grocery stores sell popular dips, but many dips are homemade.

• Used in a sentence: I know how to make a pretty good spinach dip.

Synonym Usage

Dip, immerse, plunge refer to putting something into liquid. To dip is to put down into a liquid quickly or partially and lift out again: to dip a finger into water to test the temperature. Immerse denotes a lowering into a liquid until covered by it: to immerse meat in salt water. Plunge adds a suggestion of force or suddenness to the action of dipping: to plunge a chicken into boiling water before stripping off the feathers.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dippable
  adjective
• undipped
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• dipping
  present
• dipped
  past
• dipt
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dip
  simple
• dips
  simple
• have dipped
  perfect
• have dipt
  perfect
• has dipped
  perfect
• has dipt
  perfect
• am dipping
  progressive
• are dipping
  progressive
• is dipping
  progressive
• have been dipping
  perfect progressive
• has been dipping
  perfect progressive

Past

• dipped
  simple
• dipt
  simple
• had dipped
  perfect
• had dipt
  perfect
• was dipping
  progressive
• were dipping
  progressive
• had been dipping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dip
  simple
• will have dipped
  perfect
• will have dipt
  perfect
• will be dipping
  progressive
• will have been dipping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of dip¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb dippen, duppen “to dip, moisten, plunge,” Old English dyppan “to baptize”; akin to German taufen “to baptize,” and to deep

Origin of dip²

First recorded in 1910–15; by shortening

Origin of dip³

First recorded in 1925–30; probably back formation from dippy

Origin of DIP⁴

d(ual) i(n-line) p(ackage)

Explanation

When you dip something, you plunge it quickly into a liquid or soft substance. You might dip your toe into a swimming pool to check the water temperature. When you finger paint, you dip a fingertip into a puddle of paint, and when you eat a snack you might dip tortilla chips into salsa. You can also say that a boat bobbing on the ocean dips, or that a bird dropping lower in the sky dips down. A dip can be a quick swim, a delicious sauce meant for dunking other foods in, or a downward slope. The Old English root, dyppan, means "immerse" or "baptize."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dip DIP dip. dips dipped dipt dipping

The decline is particularly steep at grassroots level, with a 10% dip in the number of female volunteer coaches - significantly affecting pathways in amateur sport.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The retailer’s first-quarter earnings on Thursday could give investors a reason to buy the dip, Jefferies says.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Housing starts across Canada came in at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in August of 229,046 units, a 0.1% dip from the month before, and under the 240,000 residential projects expected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

The grill leans into comfort foods and Americana with crab cakes, spinach artichoke dip, a Lucas-favorite chopped salad, jumbo-prawn cocktails, mac and cheese, and pigs in a blanket.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

The fishing-boats are racing for home, and rise and dip in the ground swell as they sweep into the harbour, bending to the scuppers.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

The researchers found several important differences between PIP and DIP joints.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

"And that is where the DIP is unconvincing."

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

The prime minister said the DIP would ensure the UK is "more ready to fight and defend our nation and better prepared to win".

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

He adds that the funding gap created by the DIP fits in the more "modest" category by historic standards of spending decisions taken between Budgets.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Unfortunately, even the PCI bus is not up to pulling this off reliably, and people who have to do installation or troubleshoot PCs soon find themselves longing for the DIP switches.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Guy L. Steele

“We’ve taken a dip. Now it’s time to get it back,” coach Jared Bednar said.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2022

“Every summer we’d see a big spike, and every fall we’d see a small dip. But it ended up trending upwards.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2021

“The things that are happening now are bad, but there’s cycles. … There are dips, and we’re in a dip. But we are constantly, I think, going in an upward trajectory.”

From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2018

"You have to be a buyer of ARM on the dip. It not only provides Apple with chips but also Samsung, and they get all the royalties," said Beaufort Securities sales trader Basil Petrides.

From Reuters ● Jan. 28, 2015

“Your stepfather is just worried about money. That’s all. Besides,” she added, “Gabriel won’t have to setde for bean dip. I’ll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works.”

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

PepsiCo will be raising prices on some of its chips, dips and sodas in the months ahead, creating confusion and concern among analysts after the company cut prices earlier in the year.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Households across the UK are being warned to brace for higher energy bills this winter as European countries scramble to replenish their natural gas stores before the weather dips.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Shaia Hosseinzadeh, founder of OnyxPoint Global Management, has recently bought dips in AI-infrastructure stocks when Wall Street has strained to absorb massive debt issued by Silicon Valley.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

As the sun dips below the horizon, a fleet of onlookers on jet skis and boats idle on the water to catch a peek of the vivacious scene.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

You’d think that after flying six-odd hours from New York to Oakland, then flying six-odd hours back, Vonetta, Fern, and I would be world-class travelers, and those bumps and dips would be nothing.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

More importantly, his overall impact seems to have dipped.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Sure enough, when De Paula stepped into the batter’s box at Loan Depot Park, he wasn’t tempted to swing at the first-pitch curveball that dipped below the zone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Exports dipped 2.1 percent to $310.7 billion, the Department of Commerce said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Exports recovered under a deal to reopen the strait, but dipped again after the agreement fell apart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

“I believe I know when it will happen,” Aunt Kitty said quietly as she dipped her pen into the inkwell.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see .

From Time Magazine Archive

Disregarding the roses and raptures of vice, she paints, with a small brush dipt in gilt, the lilies and languors of virtue.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then a Pint of Vinegar is to be added, and Flanels or other woollen Cloths dipt in the Fomentation, and wrung out, are to be applied to the Part affected.

From Advice to the people in general, with regard to their health by S. A. D. (Samuel Auguste David) Tissot

Shafts for shuttles, dipt in gore,      Shoot the trembling cords along; Swords, that once a monarch bore,      Keep the tissue close and strong.

From Select Poems of Thomas Gray by Robert Carruthers

What was it meant for, or made for, that minute, But that our lives in delight should be dipt?

From The Book of Humorous Verse by Carolyn Wells

Happily, you did not mention dipping into your retirement savings or the need to take out a loan, so I’m hoping those options are not on the table.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

They can go on flatbread with goat cheese, over toast, or beside good bread for dipping.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

Pedro Porro: The World Cup winner played further forward on the right wing and had a couple of openings, seeing a shot blocked by Hall and a dipping volley go just over.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

“I’m dipping nuggets you’ve never heard of into sources you could never understand,” she declares bluntly, causing us to cackle out of sheer surprise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

As we drove to the trailer, the sun dipping in the sky, its last rays reaching across the highway, I thought about the Apache women.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Related Words

• decline
• drop down
• fall
• go down
• nose-dive
• plummet
• plunge
• reach
• recede
• sag
• sink
• skid
• slip
• slump
• spiral
• tumble