sip
verb (used with object)
to drink (a liquid) a little at a time; take small tastes of.
sip
1 American
[sip]
/ sɪp /
verb (used with object)
-
sips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sipped,
past participle, past
-
sipping
present participle
-
to drink (a liquid) a little at a time; take small tastes of.
He sipped the hot tea noisily.
-
to drink from a little at a time.
The bird sipped the flower.
-
to take in; absorb.
to sip knowledge at its source.
verb (used without object)
-
sips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sipped,
past participle, past
-
sipping
present participle
noun
-
sips
plural
-
an instance of sipping; a small taste of a liquid.
One sip told me that the milk was sour.
-
a small quantity taken by sipping.
Take just a sip, not a gulp or a swallow.
SIP
2
American
sip
British
/ sɪp /
verb
noun
-
a small quantity of a liquid taken into the mouth and swallowed
-
an act of sipping
Synonym Usage
See drink.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sipsimple
-
sipssimple
-
have sippedperfect
-
has sippedperfect
-
am sippingprogressive
-
are sippingprogressive
-
is sippingprogressive
-
have been sippingperfect progressive
-
has been sippingperfect progressive
Past
-
sippedsimple
-
had sippedperfect
-
was sippingprogressive
-
were sippingprogressive
-
had been sippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sip
1350–1400; Middle English sippen (v.), akin to Low German sippen to sip
Explanation
When you drink a small amount of something, you sip it. If your cocoa is extremely hot, you should probably sip it until it cools off a little bit. You may sit in a corner and sip your punch at a dull party, but when your long hike leaves you parched, it's hard to sip from your water bottle instead of guzzling. As a noun sip means "small drink," like a sip of Coke or a sip of soup. The origin of sip isn't clear, though we know it's related to the Old English supan, "take into the mouth a little at a time."
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:
But after 58 years Wakefield have got to sip champagne after the final hooter in Manchester.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
If it melts, "it especially affects the lingering aftertaste once you've taken a sip."
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
The 58-year-old dad became hooked on the chain’s tea lattes in 2001, when he started dating his now wife and was searching for a sweet beverage to sip alongside her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
She’d occasionally crouch down to take a sip from her water bottle, which matched her ensemble.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
She takes a sip of tea, then winces at the scalding liquid.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
She then scoured council documents and found there had been a significant rise in the number of penalties issued in the first year the SIP car park was open.
From BBC ● May 19, 2025
The ratings provided for each SIP intervention were applied subjectively based on discussions with experts, literature research, and modelling.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2023
The crackdown was confirmed by friends and family of some of the targets, including the SIP Café Club from Mandalay.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2022
The Arizona defendants are TollFreeDeals.com, SIP retail and their owner-operators, Nicholas and Natasha Palumbo.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 28, 2020
SIP sop stir-up Toorak small beer do si la sol fa me re do Nip nap wash down chops nacks oh! dear.
From The Eureka Stockade by Raffaello Carboni
Poornima, a salt pan worker, sips black tea during the day -- saying the hot drink induces sweating in the dry weather to cool the body.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
I sit next to her, and in between sips and bites, I learn a few things.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
She sips tea throughout the interview in an effort to protect her voice, which is "really delicate" - not from the concerts, but because "I've been talking too much to my friends".
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026
This coffee had me feeling energized and wide awake first thing in the morning, only after a few sips.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
“Interesting ingredients,” Bubbe says as she sips her coffee.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Over the past several months, I’ve cooked, grilled, smoked, sipped and served my way through a wide range of products perfect for summer gatherings.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
Two Brazil supporters sipped sodas a little further away.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
I woke up in the morning to a warm California sun and hot coffee, sipped on the balcony.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Standing at the counter next to a crew of workmen, I sipped a latte and munched on a pastry as the smell of espresso and the sound of Italian greetings swirled around me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
It bubbled, and then it ceased bubbling, and both of them sipped it and laughed, and each of the brothers found the verse and the poetry inside himself that he had never let out.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
By the third inning, the children were taking a break from the heat, sipping on water, juice and soda to hydrate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
But for the brokers sipping sake in Singapore, the chaos is an opportunity to cash in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
It's hard to imagine this man, quietly sipping a cup of tea in his slippers, commanding crowds of thousands.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
We would be sipping ice-cold spritzes at cafés overlooking the Mediterranean, frolicking down cobblestone streets lined with charming boutiques, and marveling at the frescoes and marble sculptures adorning grand cathedrals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
He ran all the way to the medicine man’s, through cobbled streets, past groups of men sipping coriander tea and beautiful pillared villas.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
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.
