tipple

[ tip-uh l ]

/ ˈtɪp əl /

SEE MORE 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.

Nearby words

tipper truck, tipperary, tippet, tippett, tipping point, tipple, tippler, tippy, tippytoe, tipstaff, tipster

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

Related forms

un·tip·pled, adjective

Definition for tipple (2 of 2)

tipple

[ tip-uh l ]

/ 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. 2019

Examples from the Web for tipple

"Oh, you put your tipple away up your sleeves, so as to drink on the sly," they said.
The Lives of the Saints, Volume III (of 16): March|Sabine Baring-Gould
A tipple near the drift mouth of the mine belched coal and coal dust day after day.
Blue Ridge Country|Jean Thomas
"There's worse places," murmured Dalton, who drank in national flattery as the pleasantest "tipple" after personal.
The Daltons, Volume II (of II)|Charles James Lever
He had continued to tipple until night, when he retired in a fuddled state to rest.
The Lively Poll|R.M. Ballantyne

Why, we cannot even choose our own tipple on such occasions.
A Little Garrison|Fritz von der Kyrburg

British Dictionary definitions for tipple (1 of 2)

tipple

/ (ˈtɪpəl) /

verb

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

noun

alcoholic drink

Derived Forms

tippler, noun

Word Origin for tipple

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

British Dictionary definitions for tipple (2 of 2)

tipple

/ (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