sheep-dip

American  

[sheep-dip] / ˈʃipˌdɪp /

noun

1. a lotion or wash applied to the fleece or skin of sheep to kill vermin, usually applied by immersing the animals in vats.

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sheep-dip British  

noun

1. any of several liquid disinfectants and insecticides in which sheep are immersed to kill vermin and germs in their fleece

2. a deep trough containing such a liquid

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Etymology

Origin of sheep-dip

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Last time you and I were together, we were at an event in D.C. where it felt like people were starting to get the message about this Leonard Leo sheep-dip process.

From Slate

A Welsh MP is calling for an independent inquiry on sheep-dip poisoning that left hundreds of farmers with debilitating health problems.

From BBC

Sheets of ballads, which Ephraim had bought as a boy, lay side by side with a tattered copy or two of Zadkiel's prophetic almanac, some advertisements of patent medicines, a recipe for sheep-dip, and a Wesleyan hymn-book.

From Project Gutenberg

Approval for diazinon, mostly used as a sheep-dip in the UK, was revoked in this country in 1999 and its use in agriculture phased out from that date.

From The Guardian

Mainly they seemed irreproachably mature, men who might easily have other jobs as engineers, or sales executives in a regional weed killer and sheep-dip firm.

From The Guardian