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
-
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:
Zuckerberg spoke alongside Wang at the same keynote address, wearing his new Hillsong pastor drip, the T-shirt this time emblazoned with the slogan “Building is my love language.”
From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026
He said the drip of dextrose would have masked the insulin, making it harder to notice, but the blood test result would still register a very high level of insulin.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
WSJ | Buy Side: See our guide to the best drip coffee machines for a better morning cup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Problems can occur, especially in people with poor kidney function or rare inherited conditions, which is why this is not a harmless wellness drip to be sold on the high street.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
The world relaxed into a slow, steady beat, like the drip of an icicle on a cold, cloudy day.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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
Christie's called Number 7A, 1948, which depicts black drips of paint with touches of red on a huge canvas spanning more than three metres, a key piece of art history.
From BBC ● May 19, 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
In line for the merch booth, sweat drips down our backs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026
Cook drips tanroot oil on a square of gauze and dabs it onto the wound.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
He didn’t allow air conditioning in his office, so his traders dripped with sweat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Numbing spray dripped onto the back of my tongue, its bitter flavor making me want to gag.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
She added: "At a time when people are watching every pound, dripped fees can tip the balance."
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 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
Her words dripped into the cold air, and while she seemed awash in sadness, she did not shed another tear.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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
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
“Artists come here from all over the world to be part of it, and there’s so much music dripping out of the honeycomb of this town that I’m in it. I’m in it neck-deep.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Look at those Watteau straps in the back, dripping with rhinestones and looping, swinging, amplifying the dynamics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 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
An ambulance technician said working in the heat was "vile", while other healthcare workers have said they are "dripping with sweat from head to toe".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
She reached in and pulled out the dripping sneaker.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
