Jump To:

• sup
  sup

  interjection

  wassup.
• sup-
  sup-

  variant of sub- before p:
• sup.
  sup.

  abbreviation

  superior.

sup

¹ American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

Or 'sup

interjection

Slang.

1. wassup.

---

sup ² American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

verb (used without object)

supped, supping

1. to eat the evening meal; have supper.

---

verb (used with object)

supped, supping

1. to provide with or entertain at supper.

sup ³ American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

verb (used with object)

supped, supping

1. to take (liquid food, or any liquid) into the mouth in small quantities, as from a spoon or cup; sip.

---

verb (used without object)

supped, supping

1. to take liquid into the mouth in small quantities, as by spoonfuls or sips.

noun

1. a mouthful or small portion of drink or liquid food; sip.

sup ⁴ American  

[soop] / sup /

noun

Mathematics.

1. supremum. See least upper bound.

---

sup- ⁵ American  

1. variant of sub- before p:

   suppose.

---

sup. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. superior.

2. superlative.

3. supine.

4. supplement.

5. supplementary.

6. supply.

7. supra.

---

sup ¹ British  

/ sʌp /

verb

1. to partake of (liquid) by swallowing a little at a time

2. dialect to drink

---

noun

1. a sip

sup. ² British  

abbreviation

1. above

2. superior

3. grammar superlative

---

sup ³ British  

/ sʌp /

verb

1. archaic (intr) to have supper

2. obsolete (tr) to provide with supper

---

Etymology

Origin of sup¹

First recorded in 1985–90; by shortening

Origin of sup²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English s(o)upen, soupe, from Old French souper “to take supper,” from Germanic; compare Old English sūpan “to swallow, taste, sip”; see sup ³

Origin of sup³

First recorded before 900; Middle English s(o)uppen, soup(p)e, Old English sūpan; cognate with German saufen “to drink”; cf. sip, sop, soup, sup ²

Origin of sup⁴

First recorded in 1940–45; by shortening

Explanation

To sup is to eat slowly, by spoonfuls. When you eat soup, you probably sup it. You can really only sup soft foods and liquids, like oatmeal and milkshakes and miso soup. A sick person taking gingerly spoons of Jello into his mouth can be said to sup, and so can a hesitant baby eating tiny bites of pureed carrots. Sup essentially means "sip," and its root is the Old English sūpan, "to sip or swallow."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sup sup- sup. supped supping

Jimmy Adams, who oversees the pub, says the idea behind the venue was to create a place where people could meet regardless of whether they wanted to sup upon alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks.

From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2024

Now, there is only three years to go until the pub rises again and thirsty regulars can sup a beer — or two.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

How can I best sup port my girlfriend?

From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2021

After a screening of the season’s first episode, guests repaired to the nearby Lobster Club to sup on buffets of sushi and pasta.

From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2020

I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted sup port to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

“And what college is sup- posed to do is to allow you to live more fully in your time.”

From MSNBC ● Mar. 21, 2015

In Barn Dance, farm wives of 1850 prepare a picnic sup- per, children play and bicker, bashful hayseeds choose partners.

From Time Magazine Archive

She only got handy the Union-house on Sunday morning 'a b'lieve, and 'tis sup- posed here and there that she had traipsed every step of the way from Melchester.

From Far from the Madding Crowd by Hardy, Thomas

But is this as certain as people are inclined to sup- pose at first sight?

From Proposed Roads to Freedom by Russell, Bertrand

And then she quoted some of it and — the idea is too absurd for anything, but what do you sup- pose it was?

From Hermione's Group of Thinkers by Marquis, Don

P. 5-10 cm. globose then plane, subumb. glabrous then breaking up into granules; g. free; s. 4-5 cm. tapering to thickened base, fibrillose, ring sup. thin, disappearing; sp. subg. 6-7.

From European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae by Massee, George

Byz. in v. the district was originally called Δύμη, and the city Στράτος.280.Strab. ubi sup. cf.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 2 of 2 by Müller, Karl Otfried

Apollon. et Pind. ubi sup.; according to other authors, referred to by Steph.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 1 of 2 by Müller, Karl Otfried

What Aristotle ubi sup. relates, refers merely to the silly and unnecessary display of a Megarian choregus for comedy, in the embellishment of the theatre.1632.Aristot.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 2 of 2 by Müller, Karl Otfried

See Benfey's parallels, ut. sup. pp. 497-98, and Grimm, No. 87, notes.

From Italian Popular Tales by Crane, Thomas Frederick

Mr McCann added that he and his wife had "supped with the Devil" by working with the Sun in 2011, in order to have the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance reviewed - illustrating the newspaper's influence.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025

Early arrivals supped on chilled golden beet soup before an entree of king oyster mushroom “scallops” with mushroom risotto, brussels sprouts and carrots.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2020

I have drunk the legendary Vietnamese coffee and supped the sulphurous vegetable broth on the collapsing sofas.

From The Verge ● Mar. 31, 2018

“He’s supped at this table since he’s been three years old,” Biden’s beaming father said in celebrating the election of his son, who was a toddler when his father was elected to the Senate.

From The Guardian ● May 30, 2015

Washed and unwashed alike supped on hot pork pies and baked apples.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat are hitting the phones and supping breakfast, lunch, tea, coffee, dinner, beer and wine with any Conservative MP with an appetite or a thirst.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2024

The 12-seat, low-ceiling private dining room beckons with botanical wallpaper and wood rafters that let you pretend you’re supping al fresco.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 21, 2022

This was the modern-day equivalent of supping from Mr Bannon’s gilded skull.

From Economist ● Jan. 11, 2018

“What I didn’t realize is that supping with them would actually have a broader impact on how the world sees me as a scientist,” he said.

From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2016

Pa didn’t come to dinner that night, said he’d be supping with Mr. Clemson to iron things out.

From "Worth" by A. LaFaye