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drip
dripverb (used without object)to let drops fall; shed drops.
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DRIP
DRIPabbreviationdividend reinvestment plan: a program under which investors opt to have their dividends automatically applied to the purchase of more shares in the company, increasing their investment while avoiding commission charges.
drip
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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an act of dripping.
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liquid that drips.
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the sound made by falling drops.
the irritating drip of a faucet.
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Slang. an unattractive, boring, or colorless person.
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(in house painting) the accumulation of solidified drops of paint at the bottom of a painted surface.
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Architecture, Building Trades. any device, as a molding, for shedding rainwater to keep it from running down a wall, falling onto the sill of an opening, etc.
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a pipe for draining off condensed steam from a radiator, heat exchanger, etc.
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Medicine/Medical. intravenous drip.
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Slang. maudlin sentimentality.
abbreviation
verb
noun
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the formation and falling of drops of liquid
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the sound made by falling drops
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architect a projection at the front lower edge of a sill or cornice designed to throw water clear of the wall below
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informal an inane, insipid person
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med
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the usually intravenous drop-by-drop administration of a therapeutic solution, as of salt or sugar
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the solution administered
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the equipment used to administer a solution in this way
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of drip1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English dryppe, Old English dryppan; cf. drop
Origin of DRIP2
First recorded in 1975–80
Explanation
When water flows slowly in tiny drops, it drips. The movement of water in this way is called a drip. Have you ever had a leaky faucet? Then you probably know a drip is water leaking out one drop at a time: drip drip drip. A broken faucet has a drip, and you can say the water is dripping. When it rains, it usually starts dripping before it rains harder. When you turn on the shower, it might start as drips. Once the water is flowing strongly and in a stream, it's not dripping anymore.
Vocabulary lists containing drip
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.
Since 2015, NHS patients have received the world's best-selling drug through a drip – or intravenous infusion – which can take more than an hour to administer in hospital.
From BBC • May 3, 2026
But despite being given paracetamol, antihistamines and a drip, Baxter died six hours later.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
That’s because the flow of young talent that keeps the grading system running is slowing to a drip.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
“What is different this time is how many, and not en masse. It’s drip, drip, drip,” said Duane Bratt, a political-science professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Silence, apart from the eternal drip of water from the roofs.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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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.