sop
noun
a piece of solid food, as bread, for dipping in liquid food.
sop
1 American
[sop]
/ sɒp /
noun
-
sops
plural
verb (used with object)
-
sops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sopped,
past participle, past
-
sopping
present participle
-
to dip or soak in liquid food.
to sop bread in gravy.
-
to drench.
-
to take up (liquid) by absorption (usually followed byup ).
He used bread to sop up the gravy.
verb (used without object)
-
sops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sopped,
past participle, past
-
sopping
present participle
-
to be or become soaking wet.
-
(of a liquid) to soak (usually followed byin ).
SOP
2
American
Or
S.O.P.
abbreviation
sop.
3
American
abbreviation
sop
1
British
/ sɒp /
noun
-
(often plural) food soaked in a liquid before being eaten
-
a concession, bribe, etc, given to placate or mollify
a sop to one's feelings
-
informal a stupid or weak person
verb
-
(tr) to dip or soak (food) in liquid
-
to soak or be soaked
SOP
2
British
abbreviation
sop.
3
British
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sopsimple
-
sopssimple
-
have soppedperfect
-
has soppedperfect
-
am soppingprogressive
-
are soppingprogressive
-
is soppingprogressive
-
have been soppingperfect progressive
-
has been soppingperfect progressive
Past
-
soppedsimple
-
had soppedperfect
-
was soppingprogressive
-
were soppingprogressive
-
had been soppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sop1
First recorded before 1000; (for the noun) Middle English; Old English sopp; cognate with Old Norse soppa; verb derivative of the noun; see sup 3
Origin of SOP2
First recorded in 1940–45
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:
A hedge-fund strategy known as the “basis trade” has helped sop up more Treasury issuance.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 23, 2026
The BOJ’s interest-rate increases may help by bankrupting some of Japan’s zombie companies that sop up resources with no hope of turning a profit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
But if there aren’t enough home listings to sop up that demand, then price growth—which has petered out to a rate slower than wage growth—could reignite.
From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026
A creek had been dammed, creating ponds that slowed the flow of water so the surrounding earth had more time to sop it up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2024
To keep Meryl happy, Elizebeth also gave him “the bare facts of my life and career” to be used as a sop for reporters.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Former members of the SAS, the army's elite special forces regiment, have told Panorama that they believe the veto outlined in the SOP document represents a clear conflict of interest for UK Special Forces.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2024
To that end, the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health funded a $25,000 pilot project to test the SOP in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 18, 2024
Some processes do not need to be explained in great detail to be done properly, while others need the long-form SOP to make sure everything is done right.
From Encyclopedia.com ● Feb. 13, 2018
A company must have an SOP for every process it utilizes to make sure that those processes are done properly and within the guidelines of the company.
From Encyclopedia.com ● Feb. 13, 2018
By necessity, and because it was SOP, they all carried steel helmets that weighed 5 pounds including the liner and camouflage cover.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
The second act begins to drag with slapdash vaudeville showcases that seem like sops to the performers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025
The donutlike gram fritters are fluffy sops for the sauces.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 20, 2023
However you cheeseburger, a few qualities are paramount: flavorful meat, melty-bubbly cheese, a bun that sops, and toppings that complement without stealing the show.
From Salon ● May 27, 2022
At the highest level, therefore, Mr Xi seems to have given sops to other groups.
From Economist ● Oct. 26, 2017
She only got one—a jelly kind with pink sops come through the bread.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Over time, the U.S. economy would be forced to adjust downward, as massive current account deficits could no longer be sopped up by the rest of the world.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2022
Mayonnaise serves at once as marinade, cooking fat and, once mingled with the pan juices, glossy sauce, which should be sopped up with fluffy rice.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 16, 2022
Stale bread sopped up more batter, giving the pudding a forgiving crunch.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 30, 2019
Instead, the flaky fish is simmered in a subtle sauce of saffron, tomato and coconut milk, the kind that’s best when sopped up with white rice.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 27, 2016
They ate most of the meat, leaving a little for day meal, and sopped up the juices with hawkbit roots baked in the embers.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Yet under the surface, violent moves have been playing out between the big spenders of the artificial-intelligence race and those sopping up the cash.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
“I’m always thinking about sopping up flavors,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
“It’s only when there’s a lot of fresh fruit that the bottom tends to get sopping wet.”
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2024
Clear skies helped dry out the sopping city over the weekend but also presented a new danger as temperatures climbed to around 90 degrees and were expected to stay.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2024
Every window in the house was wide open, so Evan, Jessie, and Mrs. Treski ran from the top floor to the bottom, shutting windows and sopping up puddles.
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
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.
