trickle
to flow or fall by drops, or in a small, gentle stream: Tears trickled down her cheeks.
to come, go, or pass bit by bit, slowly, or irregularly: The guests trickled out of the room.
to cause to trickle.
a trickling flow or stream.
a small, slow, or irregular quantity of anything coming, going, or proceeding: a trickle of visitors throughout the day.
Origin of trickle
1Other words for trickle
Other words from trickle
- trick·ling·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use trickle in a sentence
Lakes and rivers that overflow during the winter months are reduced to puddles and trickles come summer.
These Photos Remind Us Why Conservation Matters - Issue 92: Frontiers | Kevin Berger | November 11, 2020 | NautilusIn late October, demand for tests at a mobile testing site near a playground in Midwood had slowed to a trickle.
New York’s block-by-block lockdowns are curbing covid-19. But residents aren’t pleased. | Ben Guarino | November 8, 2020 | Washington PostThere had always been a trickle and a presence largely on the West Coast, but now it has gushed and sprawled.
Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei continuing proud tradition of Polynesian quarterbacks | Chuck Culpepper | November 6, 2020 | Washington PostAnimals began to move between the continents, in a trickle at first and then in a massive wave after the isthmus had fully formed around 3 million years ago.
Why South America’s ancient mammals may have lost out to northern counterparts | Jake Buehler | November 4, 2020 | Science NewsChallenger banks can earn a trickle of revenue from merchants when customers swipe their debit cards, but not enough to thrive in the long term.
Reports began trickling out in the press this week that GOProud had decided to close up shop.
Inside the Implosion of GOProud, the Right’s Most Notorious Pro-Gay Group | Tim Mak | June 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn L.A., the really exhilarant cooking was bubbling up from the bottom, not trickling down from the top.
Why Los Angeles Is the Best Food Town in America | Andrew Romano | November 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTPalestinians say that armed Jewish settlers have been trickling back to try and reestablish a permanent presence there.
Joe Biden to Give Keynote Address at JStreet Conference | Orly Halpern | September 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the money is not trickling down to the real stars of the show, the student-athletes.
That capital has been trickling back into government coffers as well.
My mouth was dry, and I could feel cold sweat trickling down my spine.
The charge had passed through his chest, and the blood was trickling forth sluggishly.
Menotah | Ernest G. HenhamThe sweat-drops rained from his brow, and fell trickling down through the pale moonlight.
A Fortune Hunter; Or, The Old Stone Corral | John Dunloe CarteretThe Douay version is: "And his sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground."
Essays In Pastoral Medicine | Austin MalleyTrying to rise he felt blood trickling down his neck, and he turned sick and blind.
When Valmond Came to Pontiac, Complete | Gilbert Parker
British Dictionary definitions for trickle
/ (ˈtrɪkəl) /
to run or cause to run in thin or slow streams: she trickled the sand through her fingers
(intr) to move, go, or pass gradually: the crowd trickled away
a thin, irregular, or slow flow of something
the act of trickling
Origin of trickle
1Derived forms of trickle
- trickling, adjective
- tricklingly, adverb
- trickly, adjective
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
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