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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.


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

"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 sheep-dip

First recorded in 1860–65


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:

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 ● Nov. 25, 2024

Approval for diazinon, mostly used as a sheep-dip in the UK, was revoked in this country in 1999 and its use in agriculture phased out from that date.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 ● Oct. 1, 2010

There is a pause, during which my father spits, and then the conversation turns to the price of cattle, the E.E.C., butter mountains, the cost of lime and sheep-dip.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 8, 2010

Denis' grandfather in Kent had discovered an effective sheep-dip and founded a company, Atlas Preservatives, to market it.

From Time Magazine Archive

And they went by train with the bailiff from the farm, who was going in about some sheep-dip and too buy pigs.

From The Wouldbegoods by E. (Edith) Nesbit

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