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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

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

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

The door has been left ajar, funnelling an icy breeze into the bar where a small group of members sup pints.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2023

How can I best sup port my girlfriend?

From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2021

Deen Biasa, a roadside spot owned by a Muslim Indian whose specialty is sup tulang, halal mutton soup.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2019

“I pray you, be seated and sup how you please. You will, I trust, excuse me that I do not join you; but I have dined already, and I do not sup.”

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

“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

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

From Proposed Roads to Freedom by Russell, Bertrand

A passage of double aisles surrounds it, with the arches that divide them sup- ported on very thick round columns, not clustered.

From A Little Tour in France by James, Henry

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

Eurip. ubi sup. where ἐπιπορπὶς appears to be the tongue of the clasp.1253.Περόναι, or clasps, were also used in the Ionic female dress, in order to close the slit-up sleeve.

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

Z 34 sup. at Milan, Dean Burgon testifies that the Catholic and Pauline Epistles are followed by the Gospels; in Basil.

From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I. by Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose

Occasionally however he endeavoured, following Huxley and others, to defend himself against the reproach of relying upon such a factor.—Vid. sup., c. xii.

From The Old Riddle and the Newest Answer by Gerard, John S.J.

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

However, she added: “There are clearly questions to be answered about the various relationships that developed afterwards and whether the UK supped with a sufficiently long spoon.”

From The Guardian ● May 31, 2016

They both supped sorrow with a big spoon, that’s what Mother said.

From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

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

Retro china finds some of us supping off the portraits of Jack and Jackie and Dick and Pat.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 4, 2018

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

Taryn and I hear things, even if no one means for us to—stories of humans sleeping on stone floors and eating refuse, believing themselves to be resting on feather beds and supping on delicacies.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black