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• 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.

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sup ² American  

[suhp] / sʌp /

verb (used without object)

supped, supping

1. to eat the evening meal; have supper.

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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.

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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.

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sup- ⁵ American  

1. variant of sub- before p:

   suppose.

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sup. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. superior.

2. superlative.

3. supine.

4. supplement.

5. supplementary.

6. supply.

7. supra.

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sup ¹ British  

/ sʌp /

verb

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

2. dialect to drink

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noun

1. a sip

sup. ² British  

abbreviation

1. above

2. superior

3. grammar superlative

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sup ³ British  

/ sʌp /

verb

1. archaic (intr) to have supper

2. obsolete (tr) to provide with supper

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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

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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

Yes, it’s able But your meals might be slightly unstable When it comes time to sup Just hold on to your cup While I pump up your new InflaTable.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2022

How can I best sup port my girlfriend?

From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2021

“May I offer you both some sup and drink that we might be better acquainted?”

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson

“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

I sup- posed that you, being acquainted with the history of your country, felt under a certain obligation to Thomas Paine for the splendid services rendered by him in the darkest days of the Revolution.

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 5 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Discussions by Robert Green Ingersoll

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

From Proposed Roads to Freedom by Bertrand Russell

It was not till the third day that I re- turned to Tours; and the distance, traversed for the most part after dark, was even greater than I had sup- posed.

From A Little Tour in France by Henry James

For the Wertherism, v. sup. on Chateaubriand, p.

From A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century by George Saintsbury

Wesseling corrects Ἀλαῖος for Ἅλιος in Aristot. ubi sup. comp.

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

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 Karl Otfried Müller

P. 7-10 cm. soon plane, orange or golden, viscid, naked; g. free; s. 8-12 cm. slender, white, floccosely-squamulose, ring sup. volva marginate; sp. ——. citrina, Gon.

From European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae by George Massee

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 Karl Otfried Müller

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

Some of the riffs, I think, “Hmm, maybe we supped at the same table.”

From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2022

To the north at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, the campus’ Hillel organization recently welcomed several Ukrainian students to a Shabbat dinner, where they supped on matzo ball soup and deli sandwiches.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2022

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

From The Verge ● Mar. 31, 2018

This evening they had supped on oxtail soup, summer greens tossed with pecans, grapes, red fennel, and crumbled cheese, hot crab pie, spiced squash, and quails drowned in butter.

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

In overnight towns, we made a habit of supping at churches, which offered hospitality and dinners of pasta, lasagna, chicken.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

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

Apparently, someone gave him a job fairly soon because within a few chapters Tucci is supping at glamorous restaurants in far-flung locales like Vancouver, Normandy and Reykjavik.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 8, 2021

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

From Economist ● Jan. 11, 2018

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

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