dollop
Americannoun
-
a lump or blob of some substance.
dollops of mud.
-
a small quantity.
Add a dollop of soda water to the mixture.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a semisolid lump
-
a large serving, esp of food
verb
Etymology
Origin of dollop
1565–75; compare Icelandic dōlpur fat man, Norwegian (dial.) dolp lump
Explanation
A dollop is a small, indefinite amount of something. You might ask for a dollop of sour cream on your taco. English has many words for amounts of something that aren't exact. For example, a load is a lot of something, but a dollop is a little. If you're watching your weight, you may only want a dollop of dressing on your salad. Most people use a dollop of shampoo when washing their hair. You can't measure a dollop, but it should be a fairly small amount. If you use a whole bottle of ketchup, that's far more than a dollop.
Vocabulary lists containing dollop
Hamilton
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The Hate U Give
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The BFG
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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.
University commencement speeches used to send graduates into the world with a boost of optimism and a dollop of advice.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
The main ingredients, she’ll tell you, requiring a dollop of growth, gratitude, of giving and not taking.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2026
That makes diversification, through international stocks and bonds, especially in emerging markets—and a dollop of gold as a buffer—good options for the years ahead.
From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026
Jenrick managed to be late to his own defection, in the latest dollop of farce on a day groaning with drama, jeopardy, skulduggery and plotting.
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
Every object is influenced by the environment it's in, so it’s impossible to cool anything in the universe—a banana, an ice cube, a dollop of liquid helium—to absolute zero.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
