drip
verb (used without object)
to let drops fall; shed drops.
drip
1 American
[drip]
/ drɪp /
verb (used without object)
-
drips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dripped,
past participle, past
-
dript,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
dripping
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
drips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dripped,
past participle, past
-
dript,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
dripping
present participle
noun
-
drips
plural
-
an act of dripping.
-
liquid that drips.
-
the sound made by falling drops.
the irritating drip of a faucet.
-
Slang. an unattractive, boring, or colorless person.
-
(in house painting) the accumulation of solidified drops of paint at the bottom of a painted surface.
-
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.
-
a pipe for draining off condensed steam from a radiator, heat exchanger, etc.
-
Medicine/Medical. intravenous drip.
-
Slang. maudlin sentimentality.
DRIP
2
American
[dee-ahr-ahy-pee, drip]
/ ˈdiˈɑrˈaɪˈpi, drɪp /
abbreviation
Business, Finance.
drip
British
/ drɪp /
verb
noun
-
the formation and falling of drops of liquid
-
the sound made by falling drops
-
architect a projection at the front lower edge of a sill or cornice designed to throw water clear of the wall below
-
informal an inane, insipid person
-
med
-
the usually intravenous drop-by-drop administration of a therapeutic solution, as of salt or sugar
-
the solution administered
-
the equipment used to administer a solution in this way
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dripsimple
-
dripssimple
-
have drippedperfect
-
have driptperfect
-
has drippedperfect
-
has driptperfect
-
am drippingprogressive
-
are drippingprogressive
-
is drippingprogressive
-
have been drippingperfect progressive
-
has been drippingperfect progressive
Past
-
drippedsimple
-
driptsimple
-
had drippedperfect
-
had driptperfect
-
was drippingprogressive
-
were drippingprogressive
-
had been drippingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
I’ve been seeing a steady drip of people sharing photos and videos of themselves on social media in butter-yellow bathrobes standing on a cylindrical 360-degree body scanner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
One can imagine a slow drip of consumer horror stories having a chilling effect on people’s interest in Muse-like apps.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
After surgery, every patient received paracetamol through an intravenous drip every 8 hours.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Lee said her family, which uses water-saving drip irrigation, should be allowed to pump more to keep the farm going.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
As we reassemble the three postcards, warm droplets of rain splash onto my head and drip down my neck.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
The vineyard has a system of piping spread across 1.85 hectares of the vines, which steadily drips water onto the ground around the plants' roots, and is turned on every few days.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Water that would fill 20 Olympic pools is pumped from the 140-year-old tunnel every day as saltwater from the River Severn constantly drips through its thick walls.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Rain drips down the plane windows; I complete the “Ask and Trust” deck, which opens with a Dr. Becky video.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
The spa offers everything from traditional services such as massages and facials to biohacking, IV drips and energy work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
I join them, toiling under the hot sun until sweat drips from my face.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
The clubhouse had a paint-chipped exterior and was even worse inside, where unused kitchen appliances dripped ooze.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
According to government research from 2023, almost half of online businesses it sampled used hidden or dripped fees.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
He tried to wipe it away with his sleeve, but he was too slow, and it dripped down onto his black shirt, joining a galaxy of white stains that looked like the night sky.
From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2026
That deficit quickly dripped away and Feller was a picture of shock as he realised he had won after his Swiss rival streaked through the finish line in second.
From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026
I finally reached a jagged split in the hull and, as the raft drifted inside it, fetid water dripped down my neck.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
Back to the town the swaying torches reeked, Within the green-striped tent the lights expired, The dew dript from the canvas where it leaked.
From King Cole by John Masefield
The night air was raw with the chill of thawing snow, and carried no sound but the soft tinkle of the sap as it dript swiftly into the birchen cups.
From The House in the Water A Book of Animal Stories by Charles Livingston Bull
We see Pollock seeking alternatives to dripping, revisiting early configurations with generous gestures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
In her “wife school” series, Clark interviewed her new sister-in-law, Katie Voetberg, a prairie dress-clad podcast host and mother of six, about how to avoid being a “nagging wife” and a “constant dripping faucet.”
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Homes are clustered on a hill that sports vistas of the sea and trees dripping with figs and pomegranates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Not the most dramatic standalone final but one dripping with gripping narrative.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Several hold freshly harvested taro, the plants’ leaves a shimmering green and the corms still dripping mud.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
