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Synonyms

dripping

American  
[drip-ing] / ˈdrɪp ɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of something that drips.

  2. Often drippings.

    1. the liquid that drips.

    2. fat and juices exuded from meat in cooking, used for basting, for making gravy, or as a cooking fat.

dripping British  
/ ˈdrɪpɪŋ /

noun

  1. the fat exuded by roasting meat

  2. (often plural) liquid that falls in drops

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. (intensifier)

    dripping wet
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dripping

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; drip, -ing 1

Vocabulary lists containing dripping

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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.

Every time I passed that corner I thought about it, how this life was dripping away whether we were awake inside it or not.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Anyone who has sprayed foam on a surface has likely noticed droplets forming and dripping from the bottom.

From Science Daily • Mar. 23, 2026

A tin of beef dripping that was taken on the first successful Mount Everest expedition has been sold at auction.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

The persistent plunk, plunk, plunk of icicles dripping into an aluminum gutter — a sound that is less birdsong than plumbing.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2026

“It’ll be damp and cold down there. Everything will be dripping wet. You’d probably get soaked and come down with a bad cold or pneumonia.”

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

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.