sip

[sip]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sip ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), sipped, sip·ping.

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), sipped, sip·ping.

to drink by sips.

noun

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.

Origin of sip

1350–1400; Middle English sippen (v.), akin to Low German sippen to sip

Related formssip·ping·ly, adverbun·sipped, adjective

Synonym study

1. See drink.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sipping

savor, imbibe, quaff, taste, toss, partake, sample, sup, swallow, extract

Examples from the Web for sipping

Contemporary Examples of sipping

He speaks while sipping a soda in the restaurant of the Residence Victoria in downtown Kisangani.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway
Nina Strochlic
December 18, 2014
But while McCartney was sipping a brandy, Lennon snuck up behind the future Sir Paul and clocked him on the back of the head.
The Man Who Captured the Beatles Magic
Chantel Tattoli
June 16, 2014
Sarah Palin, sipping from one at her 2013 CPAC speech, and sugar became something that real conservatives embraced.
Republicans for More Fat Kids
Michael Tomasky
May 28, 2014
I remember how out of place I felt, sipping my drink alone on the couch while the getting-ready activities swirled around me.
The Cost: What Stop and Frisk Does to a Young Man’s Soul
Rilla Askew
May 21, 2014
The cafés were still full of people sitting on green Astroturf lawns, sipping tea that steamed at their lips.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi
Elliot Ackerman
January 21, 2014

Historical Examples of sipping

So it is with war, and the quality of both is best discovered by sipping.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
"I do not quite understand," returned the uncle, sipping his coffee.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Like a bee over a flower-bed, I went dipping and sipping at my treasure.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald
Only when he had dined slowly and was sipping his black coffee did they attract his attention.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens
Belle sipping the hot, comforting drink looked about her curiously.
Melomaniacs
James Huneker

British Dictionary definitions for sipping

sip

verb sips, sipping or sipped

to drink (a liquid) by taking small mouthfuls; drink gingerly or delicately

noun

a small quantity of a liquid taken into the mouth and swallowed

an act of sipping

Derived Formssipper, noun

Word Origin for sip

C14: probably from Low German sippen

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

Word Origin and History for sipping

sip

late 14c., of uncertain origin, perhaps from a source related to Low German sippen "to sip," or from Old English sypian "absorb, drink in," related to supan "to take into the mouth a little at a time" (see sup (v.2)). Related: Sipped; sipping.

sip

c.1500, from sip (v.).