tipple

¹ American  

[tip-uhl] / ˈtɪp əl /

verb (used without object)

tippled, tippling

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

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verb (used with object)

tippled, tippling

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

noun

1. intoxicating liquor.

tipple ² American  

[tip-uhl] / ˈtɪp əl /

noun

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

2. a place where loaded cars are emptied by tipping.

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

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tipple ¹ British  

/ ˈtɪpəl /

noun

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

2. a place at which such trucks are tipped and unloaded

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verb

1. dialect to fall or cause to fall

tipple ² British  

/ ˈtɪpəl /

verb

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

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noun

1. alcoholic drink

Other Word Forms

• tippler
  noun
• untippled
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of tipple¹

1490–1500; back formation from Middle English tipeler tapster, equivalent to tipel- tap ² (cognate with Dutch tepel teat) + -er -er ¹; cf. tipsy

Origin of tipple²

1875–80, noun use of dial. tipple to tumble, frequentative of tip ²; see -le

Explanation

Use the verb tipple when you want to show that someone drinks moderately but regularly. During Prohibition in the 1920s it was illegal to tipple but today you can tipple almost anywhere — as long as you are 21. As a noun, a tipple is an alcoholic drink. Your usual tipple may be a glass of wine with dinner, but at a summer barbecue your tipple may be beer. From tipple we also get the noun tippler — a person who drinks regularly but moderately. Experts aren't sure where the word tipple comes from, but it may be from a Norwegian word, tipla, which means to drink slowly.

Example Sentences

While you’re away, pinpoint at least one delicacy that will transport your guests to your vacation destination, preferably accompanied by a traditional tipple.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

“The tipple of Hong Kong,” according to Hahn.

From Salon • Jul. 12, 2025

Early nights, or perhaps a favourite tipple, are among the common answers, but 106-year-old Leslie Lemon's is more unusual: custard.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2025

To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, I guess the rich drink different from you and me — and Sacramento is helping them tipple it up.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2024

That night, after the hoot-owl miners had descended into the mine and the evening shift dispersed, I slipped out the back door and up the tipple path.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam