sop

[ sop ]

/ sɒp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sop ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a piece of solid food, as bread, for dipping in liquid food.

anything thoroughly soaked.

something given to pacify or quiet, or as a bribe: The political boss gave him some cash as a sop.

a weak-willed or spineless person; milksop.

verb (used with object), sopped, sop·ping.

to dip or soak in liquid food: to sop bread in gravy.

to drench.

to take up (liquid) by absorption (usually followed by up): He used bread to sop up the gravy.

verb (used without object), sopped, sop·ping.

to be or become soaking wet.

(of a liquid) to soak (usually followed by in).

Nearby words

Origin of sop

before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English sopp; cognate with Old Norse soppa; (v.) Old English soppian, derivative of the noun (not recorded in ME). See sup²

SYNONYMS FOR sop

3. tip, gratuity, payoff.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sop ON THESAURUS.COM

SOP

or S.O.P.

Standard Operating Procedure; Standing Operating Procedure.

sop.

soprano.

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

Examples from the Web for sop

A sop to lawmakers who represent congressional districts consisting entirely of catfish ponds.
Up to a Point: P.J. O’Rourke on Valentine’s Day and Oral Hygiene|P. J. O’Rourke|February 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cynics, of course, can argue that this is just a sop to Western sensibilities.
Morsi Finally Answers Jeff Goldberg|Raphael Magarik|June 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Liberals regard them as a sop to the wealthy, who receive the largest share of the benefits.
In Second Term, What Will Obama Do About Bush Tax Cuts?|Noam Scheiber|March 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Taking it on now is strictly Obama's sop to liberals appalled by his spineless obsession with managing public perceptions.
Obama's Desperate Gay Pander|Lee Siegel|February 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST

With a shrug of his shoulders, sop resumed his studies, finding Aretino more diverting than such nonsense.
The Duke's Motto|Justin Huntly McCarthy
Nevertheless, as a sop to high philosophy, every baby is allowed to be the offspring of its father and mother.
Essays on Life, Art and Science|Samuel Butler
Pliny states that sop was the Contubernalis of Rhodopis, his fellow slave, whose extraordinary beauty passed into a proverb.
The Chautauquan, Vol. III, February 1883|The Chautauquan Literary and Scientific Circle
As a sop to Cerberus, the King promised thenceforth to abide by the advice of his native nobility, and the subsidy was voted.
Earl Hubert's Daughter|Emily Sarah Holt
Of three of them, the Bible, Shakspeare and sop's Fables, he could repeat large portions by heart.
Men of Our Times|Harriet Beecher Stowe

British Dictionary definitions for sop

sop

/ (sɒp) /

noun

(often plural) food soaked in a liquid before being eaten

a concession, bribe, etc, given to placate or mollifya sop to one's feelings

informal a stupid or weak person

verb sops, sopping or sopped

(tr) to dip or soak (food) in liquid

(when intr, often foll by in) to soak or be soaked

Word Origin for sop

Old English sopp; related to Old Norse soppa soup, Old High German sopfa milk with bread; see sup ²

SOP

abbreviation for

standard operating procedure

sop.

abbreviation for

soprano

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 sop

sop

Old English sopp- "bread soaked in some liquid," (in soppcuppe "cup into which sops are put"), from Proto-Germanic *supp-, related to Old English verb suppan (see sup (v.2)), probably reinforced by Old French soupe (see soup (n.)). Meaning "something given to appease" is from 1660s, a reference to the sops given by the Sibyl to Cerberus in the "Aeneid."

sop

Old English soppian, from the source of sop (n.). Related: Sopped; sopping.

sop

noun

verb (used with object), sopped, sop·ping.

verb (used without object), sopped, sop·ping.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of sop

SOP

or S.O.P.

sop.

Examples from the Web for sop

sop

noun

verb sops, sopping or sopped

Word Origin for sop

SOP

abbreviation for

sop.

abbreviation for

sop

sop