dope

American  

[dohp] / doʊp /

noun

1. any thick liquid or pasty preparation, as a lubricant, used in preparing a surface.

2. an absorbent material used to absorb and hold a liquid, as in the manufacture of dynamite.

3. Aeronautics.

   1. any of various varnishlike products for coating a fabric, as of airplane wings, in order to make it waterproof, stronger, etc.

   2. a similar product used to coat the fabric of a balloon to reduce gas leakage.

4. Slang.

   1. any narcotic or narcoticlike drug taken to induce euphoria or satisfy addiction.

   2. any illicit drug.

   3. a drug, as a steroid, given to an athlete to boost athletic performance.

   4. a narcotic or other drug given surreptitiously to a horse to improve or retard its performance in a race.

5. Slang. information, data, or news.

   What's the latest dope on the strike?

6. Informal. a stupid or unresponsive person.

7. Southern U.S. (chiefly South Atlantic States). a carbonated, flavored, and sweetened drink, especially cola-flavored; soda pop.

8. North Central U.S. (chiefly Ohio). syrup used as a topping for ice cream.

---

verb (used with object)

doped, doping

1. Slang.

   1. to affect with dope or drugs (usually followed by up orout ).

      I was so doped up that I couldn't remember a thing.

   2. to add a narcotic or other drug to.

      My brother doped my food as a prank.

   3. to give a drug to (an athlete or horse), so as to affect performance in a race or other competition.

2. to apply or treat with dope.

   In the winter, we doped the fabric of the airplanes in the hangar.

3. Electronics. to add or treat (a pure semiconductor) with a dopant.

verb (used without object)

doped, doping

1. Slang. to take drugs.

   He only dopes on weekends—or so he says.

adjective

1. Slang. great; excellent.

   His band is so dope!

verb phrase

1. dope out to figure out; work out: to dope out a solution to a problem.

   to dope out a plan;

   to dope out a solution to a problem.

dope British  

/ dəʊp /

noun

1. any of a number of preparations made by dissolving cellulose derivatives in a volatile solvent, applied to fabric in order to improve strength, tautness, etc

2. an additive used to improve the properties of something, such as an antiknock compound added to petrol

3. a thick liquid, such as a lubricant, applied to a surface

4. a combustible absorbent material, such as sawdust or wood pulp, used to hold the nitroglycerine in dynamite

5. slang

   1. any illegal drug, usually cannabis

   2. ( as modifier )

      a dope fiend

6. a drug administered to a racehorse or greyhound to affect its performance

7. informal a person considered to be stupid or slow-witted

8. informal news or facts, esp confidential information

9. informal a photographic developing solution

---

verb

1. electronics to add impurities to (a semiconductor) in order to produce or modify its properties

2. to apply or add a dopant to

3. to administer a drug to (oneself or another)

4. (intr) to take dope

adjective

1. slang excellent

Usage

What else does dope mean? A dope can be a fool, a slang term for "excellent," or refer to drugs like marijuana. Doping is using performance-enhancing drugs in sports.

Regionalisms

See soda pop.

Other Word Forms

• undoped adjective

Etymology

Origin of dope

First recorded in 1840–50; from Dutch doop (dialect) “sauce,” derivative of dopen “to dip, baptize”; deep ( def. ), dip ¹

Example Sentences

But to be fully collaborative, I thought it was really dope.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026

The latter has been handled by cartoons like the 2019 series “Harley Quinn,” which turns Superman into an overly confident dope.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026

This type of silk is made inside a spider's silk gland, where silk proteins are stored as a thick liquid called "silk dope."

From Science Daily • Feb. 6, 2026

“I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$,” he wrote.

From Salon • Feb. 2, 2026

Not only does she look dope, she’s got the whole Broadway singing voice down pat.

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

Related Words

• idiot