soup

American  

[soop] / sup /

noun

1. a liquid food made by boiling or simmering meat, fish, or vegetables with various added ingredients.

   Synonyms:

   potage, stock, broth

2. Slang. a thick fog.

3. Slang. added power, especially horsepower.

4. Slang. nitroglycerin.

5. Photography Slang. developing solution.

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verb phrase

1. soup up

   1. to improve the capacity for speed or increase the efficiency of (a motor or engine) by increasing the richness of the fuel mixture or the efficiency of the fuel, or by adjusting the engine.

   2. to give spirit or vivacity to; enliven.

      a political rally souped up by the appearance of the candidates.

idioms

1. in the soup, in trouble.

   He'll be in the soup when the truth comes out.

2. from soup to nuts,

   1. from the first through the last course of a meal.

   2. from beginning to end; to a complete, encompassing degree; leaving nothing out.

soup British  

/ suːp /

noun

1. a liquid food made by boiling or simmering meat, fish, vegetables, etc, usually served hot at the beginning of a meal

2. informal a photographic developer

3. informal anything resembling soup in appearance or consistency, esp thick fog See also peasouper

4. a slang name for nitroglycerine

5. informal in trouble or difficulties

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soup More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing soup

• duck soup
• from soup to nuts
• in the soup
• thick as thieves (pea soup)

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Other Word Forms

• soupless adjective
• souplike adjective

Etymology

Origin of soup

1645–55; 1940–45 soup for def. 6; < French soupe, Old French souppe, sope < Germanic; compare Dutch sopen to dunk. See sop

Explanation

Soup is a liquid or thick, creamy food that's usually hot and savory. If you have a sore throat, your grandma might make you a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup. Most soup is made by cooking vegetables, beans, meat, or fish (or a combination of these) in water for a long time. Sometimes soup is thickened with cream or flour, or by pureeing some of the ingredients. Certain soups, like gazpacho and vichyssoise, are served cold, and others are sweet and made with fruit. You may hear people describe a dense, thick fog as "pea soup" or use the phrase "soup to nuts" to mean "everything."

Example Sentences

Instead of cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, John Robinson’s presence at the Post-Gazette is widely remembered for a newsroom visit one Saturday night in February 2019, with his young daughter in tow.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

One way to understand this shift is to look at a soup that does take its time and see what it’s actually doing.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

Scoop out a portion of the soup and blend it smooth, or use an immersion blender to break down just part of the pot.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

McCormick is putting up $29.1 billion in stock and $15.7 billion in cash, and will own 35% of the combined company that includes Unilever’s signature food brands such as Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Knorr soup mixes.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

We had a night in his barn and his wife brought us some hot soup.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• circumstance
• crisis
• deadlock
• dilemma
• hardship
• imbroglio
• impasse
• mess
• plight
• posture
• quagmire
• quandary