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:
“I love California,” Hilton said, taking one last sip of his horchata.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
If it melts, "it especially affects the lingering aftertaste once you've taken a sip."
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
We gather around my kitchen counter and they nibble, sip and chat while I keep a plate replenished.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Savory cocktails have become de rigueur in recent years, and if we’re willing to sip olive or oyster brine, why not try some broth in your drink?
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
I put it to my mouth and took a sip.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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
Whenever a corporate phone network makes a call, a VoIP provider hands over the call from the internet to the phone networks - a technology called "SIP trunking".
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2021
If the orders were implemented when excess deaths were on the rise, “then the results from the event study would be biased towards finding that SIP policies lead to excess deaths,” the researchers wrote.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 3, 2021
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
He sips small amounts of ice water because drinking too much is akin to licking one’s lips, causing them to chap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
"You take big sips and get them down you," Keilly says.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
For over a month, they survived on "tiny sips of water" and "a little lentils".
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 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
They gave me sips of water & a little food.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
In Baghdad, young professionals sipped iced coffee and typed on laptops in the exclusive Karrada neighborhood on a recent, seemingly peaceful day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Roses are placed on the tables where supporters nibbled from snack plates, hugged, all smiles, and sipped from glasses of sparkling wine or beer.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
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
As she sipped a coffee, she reflected on those 21-year-old aspirations.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Models wove through the scattered tables, clad in the latest fashions, as ladies nibbled on cucumber sandwiches and sipped tea from white porcelain cups.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
People rarely think about money while sipping piña coladas and sailing to exotic destinations, but cruise-line passengers might have noticed a detail that helps explain how those companies make theirs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 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
We’re all sitting at home sipping adaptogenic mushroom tonics, journaling our feelings and politely declining invitations to any event after 7 p.m. because we’d rather optimize our sleep scores than take a tequila shot.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Then another bigfoot, only its fur is gray, and it’s dressed in a fancy red suit and sipping a cup of tea.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
