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• sup
  sup

  interjection

  wassup.
• sup-
  sup-

  variant of sub- before p:
• sup.
  sup.

  abbreviation

  superior.

sup

¹ American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

Or 'sup

interjection

Slang.

1. wassup.

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sup ² American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

verb (used without object)

supped, supping

1. to eat the evening meal; have supper.

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verb (used with object)

supped, supping

1. to provide with or entertain at supper.

sup ³ American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

verb (used with object)

supped, supping

1. to take (liquid food, or any liquid) into the mouth in small quantities, as from a spoon or cup; sip.

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verb (used without object)

supped, supping

1. to take liquid into the mouth in small quantities, as by spoonfuls or sips.

noun

1. a mouthful or small portion of drink or liquid food; sip.

sup ⁴ American  

[soop] / sup /

noun

Mathematics.

1. supremum. See least upper bound.

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sup- ⁵ American  

1. variant of sub- before p:

   suppose.

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sup. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. superior.

2. superlative.

3. supine.

4. supplement.

5. supplementary.

6. supply.

7. supra.

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sup ¹ British  

/ sʌp /

verb

1. to partake of (liquid) by swallowing a little at a time

2. dialect to drink

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noun

1. a sip

sup. ² British  

abbreviation

1. above

2. superior

3. grammar superlative

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sup ³ British  

/ sʌp /

verb

1. archaic (intr) to have supper

2. obsolete (tr) to provide with supper

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Etymology

Origin of sup¹

First recorded in 1985–90; by shortening

Origin of sup²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English s(o)upen, soupe, from Old French souper “to take supper,” from Germanic; compare Old English sūpan “to swallow, taste, sip”; see sup ³

Origin of sup³

First recorded before 900; Middle English s(o)uppen, soup(p)e, Old English sūpan; cognate with German saufen “to drink”; cf. sip, sop, soup, sup ²

Origin of sup⁴

First recorded in 1940–45; by shortening

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Explanation

To sup is to eat slowly, by spoonfuls. When you eat soup, you probably sup it. You can really only sup soft foods and liquids, like oatmeal and milkshakes and miso soup. A sick person taking gingerly spoons of Jello into his mouth can be said to sup, and so can a hesitant baby eating tiny bites of pureed carrots. Sup essentially means "sip," and its root is the Old English sūpan, "to sip or swallow."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sup sup- sup. supped supping

Now, there is only three years to go until the pub rises again and thirsty regulars can sup a beer — or two.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

The door has been left ajar, funnelling an icy breeze into the bar where a small group of members sup pints.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2023

How can I best sup port my girlfriend?

From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2021

Some morsels are just too delicious for journalists and pundits not to sup on.

From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2018

“Down my throat shall go neither bite nor sup until my dear comrade is avenged.”

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

“And what college is sup- posed to do is to allow you to live more fully in your time.”

From MSNBC ● Mar. 21, 2015

In Barn Dance, farm wives of 1850 prepare a picnic sup- per, children play and bicker, bashful hayseeds choose partners.

From Time Magazine Archive

Walking the wave, he proved the fallacy of the theory that matter is substance; healing through Mind, he removed any sup- position that matter is intelligent, or can recognize or express pain and pleasure.

From Miscellaneous Writings, 1883-1896 by Mary Baker Eddy

We insist that they know but little, and that even in that little which they are sup- posed to know, there is the possibility of error.

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 5 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Discussions by Robert Green Ingersoll

It was not till the third day that I re- turned to Tours; and the distance, traversed for the most part after dark, was even greater than I had sup- posed.

From A Little Tour in France by Henry James

Manso, ubi sup., has taken the same view of the passage.470.Cic. de Leg. and de Rep. ubi sup.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 2 of 2 by Karl Otfried Müller

For the Wertherism, v. sup. on Chateaubriand, p.

From A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century by George Saintsbury

P. 5-10 cm. globose then plane, subumb. glabrous then breaking up into granules; g. free; s. 4-5 cm. tapering to thickened base, fibrillose, ring sup. thin, disappearing; sp. subg. 6-7.

From European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae by George Massee

What Aristotle ubi sup. relates, refers merely to the silly and unnecessary display of a Megarian choregus for comedy, in the embellishment of the theatre.1632.Aristot.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 2 of 2 by Karl Otfried Müller

Z 34 sup. at Milan, Dean Burgon testifies that the Catholic and Pauline Epistles are followed by the Gospels; in Basil.

From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I. by Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener

Mr McCann added that he and his wife had "supped with the Devil" by working with the Sun in 2011, in order to have the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance reviewed - illustrating the newspaper's influence.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025

To the north at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, the campus’ Hillel organization recently welcomed several Ukrainian students to a Shabbat dinner, where they supped on matzo ball soup and deli sandwiches.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2022

A marching band played John Philip Sousa as guests boarded the plane, where 111 passengers supped on cuisine from Maxim’s in Paris.

From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2019

I have drunk the legendary Vietnamese coffee and supped the sulphurous vegetable broth on the collapsing sofas.

From The Verge ● Mar. 31, 2018

This evening they had supped on oxtail soup, summer greens tossed with pecans, grapes, red fennel, and crumbled cheese, hot crab pie, spiced squash, and quails drowned in butter.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

In overnight towns, we made a habit of supping at churches, which offered hospitality and dinners of pasta, lasagna, chicken.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

The 12-seat, low-ceiling private dining room beckons with botanical wallpaper and wood rafters that let you pretend you’re supping al fresco.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 21, 2022

This was the modern-day equivalent of supping from Mr Bannon’s gilded skull.

From Economist ● Jan. 11, 2018

“What I didn’t realize is that supping with them would actually have a broader impact on how the world sees me as a scientist,” he said.

From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2016

The Friar was unwillinge to believe that I had met a talking Ferret and did ask me whether I had been supping of Brother Boniface’s Turnip Wine.

From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling

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