tipple

[ tip-uhl ]

/ ˈtɪp əl /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for tipple on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), tip·pled, tip·pling.

to drink intoxicating liquor, especially habitually or to some excess.

verb (used with object), tip·pled, tip·pling.

to drink (intoxicating liquor), especially repeatedly, in small quantities.

noun

intoxicating liquor.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of tipple

1490–1500; back formation from Middle English tipeler tapster, equivalent to tipel-tap² (cognate with Dutch tepel teat) + -er-er¹; cf. tipsy

OTHER WORDS FROM tipple

un·tip·pled, adjective

Words nearby tipple

Tipperary, tipper truck, tippet, Tippett, tipping point, tipple, tippler, tippy, tippytoe, tip sheet, tipstaff

Other definitions for tipple (2 of 2)

tipple²

[ tip-uhl ]

/ ˈtɪp əl /

noun

a device that tilts or overturns a freight car to dump its contents.

a place where loaded cars are emptied by tipping.

Mining. a structure where coal is cleaned and loaded in railroad cars or trucks.

Origin of tipple

1875–80, Americanism; noun use of dial. tipple to tumble, frequentative of tip²; see -le

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tipple in a sentence

Long considered the most British of tipples, gin has now gone truly global, with iterations springing up from Asia, Australia, South America and Africa.
Gin has gone global, with appealing new styles and flavors that stretch its very definition|M. Carrie Allan|September 27, 2021|Washington Post
You can sip Skagit Valley or enjoy a tipple that started out in a faraway corn field high in the uplands of southern Mexico.
Can Craft Spirits Save the Family Farm?|Wayne Curtis|September 23, 2021|The Daily Beast
All I meant to say was, that champagne is very pretty tipple; and so thought the dinner party, who were proportionally enlivened.
Newton Forster|Captain Frederick Marryat
Spoken of people who are so much accustomed to tipple, that they never seem any the worse of it.
The Proverbs of Scotland|Alexander Hislop

Brother Jucundus went along the range of barrels trying one tipple after another.
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events|S. Baring-Gould
He knew the good sap-days, and was on hand promptly for his tipple; cold and cloudy days he did not appear.
A Year in the Fields|John Burroughs
It is the only tipple I know of that leaves no headache the next morning to punish you for the glories of the past night.
Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon, Volume 2 (of 2)|Charles Lever

British Dictionary definitions for tipple (1 of 2)

tipple¹

/ (ˈtɪpəl) /

verb

to make a habit of taking (alcoholic drink), esp in small quantities

noun

alcoholic drink

Derived forms of tipple

tippler, noun

Word Origin for tipple

C15: back formation from obsolete tippler tapster, of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for tipple (2 of 2)

tipple²

/ (ˈtɪpəl) /

noun

a device for overturning ore trucks, mine cars, etc, so that they discharge their load

a place at which such trucks are tipped and unloaded

verb

Northern English dialect to fall or cause to fall

Word Origin for tipple

C19: from tipple to overturn, from tip ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tipple

Origin of tipple

OTHER WORDS FROM tipple

Words nearby tipple

Other definitions for tipple (2 of 2)

Origin of tipple

Words related to tipple

How to use tipple in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tipple (1 of 2)

Derived forms of tipple

Word Origin for tipple

British Dictionary definitions for tipple (2 of 2)

Word Origin for tipple