sop

¹ American  

[sop] / sɒp /

noun

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

2. anything thoroughly soaked.

3. something given to pacify or quiet, or as a bribe.

   The political boss gave him some cash as a sop.

   Synonyms:

   payoff, gratuity, tip

4. a weak-willed or spineless person; milksop.

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verb (used with object)

sopped, sopping

1. to dip or soak in liquid food.

   to sop bread in gravy.

2. to drench.

3. to take up (liquid) by absorption (usually followed byup ).

   He used bread to sop up the gravy.

verb (used without object)

sopped, sopping

1. to be or become soaking wet.

2. (of a liquid) to soak (usually followed byin ).

SOP ² American  

Or S.O.P.

abbreviation

1. Standard Operating Procedure; Standing Operating Procedure.

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sop. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. soprano.

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sop ¹ British  

/ sɒp /

noun

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

2. a concession, bribe, etc, given to placate or mollify

   a sop to one's feelings

3. informal a stupid or weak person

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verb

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

2. to soak or be soaked

SOP ² British  

abbreviation

1. standard operating procedure

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sop. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. soprano

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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

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

“There was also a man whose cell was covered in mold and water and he was using his clothes to sop up the water,” Broder said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2024

The minivan’s carpet is soaked with sticky Mountain Dew and Bluefin and Diet Coke, and we try to sop it up with the few napkins we’ve collected.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green