dip

¹

[ dip ]

verb (used with object)

, dipped or (Archaic) dipt [dipt]; dip·ping.

1. to plunge (something, as a cloth or sponge) temporarily into a liquid, so as to moisten it, dye it, or cause it to take up some of the liquid:

   He dipped the brush into the paint bucket.

   Synonyms: duck

2. to raise or take up by a bailing, scooping, or ladling action:

   to dip water out of a boat; to dip ice cream from a container.

   Synonyms: scoop

3. to lower and raise:

   to dip a flag in salutation.

4. to immerse (a sheep, hog, etc.) in a solution to destroy germs, parasites, or the like.
5. to make (a candle) by repeatedly plunging a wick into melted tallow or wax.
6. Nautical. to lower and rehoist (a yard of a lugsail) when coming about in tacking.
7. Archaic. to baptize by immersion.
8. Obsolete. to moisten or wet as if by immersion.

verb (used without object)

, dipped or (Archaic) dipt [dipt]; dip·ping.

1. to plunge into water or other liquid and emerge quickly:

   The boat dipped into the waves.

   Synonyms: dive

2. to put the hand, a dipper, etc., down into a liquid or a container, especially in order to remove something (often followed by in or into ):

   He dipped into the jar for an olive.

3. to withdraw something, especially in small amounts (usually followed by in or into ):

   to dip into savings.

4. to sink or drop down:

   The sun dipped below the horizon.

5. to incline or slope downward:

   At that point the road dips into a valley.

6. to decrease slightly or temporarily:

   Stock-market prices often dip on Fridays.

7. to engage slightly in a subject (often followed by in or into ):

   to dip into astronomy.

8. to read here and there in a book, subject, or author's work (often followed by in or into ):

   to dip into Plato.

9. South Midland and Southern U.S. to take snuff.

noun

1. the act of dipping.
2. that which is taken up by dipping.
3. a quantity taken up by dipping; the amount that a scoop, ladle, dipper, etc., will hold.
4. a scoop of ice cream.
5. Chiefly Northern U.S. a liquid or soft substance into which something is dipped.
6. a creamy mixture of savory foods for scooping with potato chips, crackers, and the like, often served as an hors d'oeuvre, especially with cocktails.
7. a momentary lowering; a sinking down.
8. a moderate or temporary decrease:

   a dip in stock-market prices.

9. a downward extension, inclination, slope, or course.
10. the amount of such extension.
11. a hollow or depression in the land.
12. a brief swim:

    She took a dip in the ocean and then sat on the beach for an hour.

13. Geology, Mining. the downward inclination of a vein or stratum with reference to the horizontal.
14. the angular amount by which the horizon lies below the level of the eye.
15. Also called angle of dip,. the angle that a freely rotating magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon.
16. a short, downward plunge, as of an airplane.
17. a candle made by repeatedly dipping a wick into melted tallow or wax.
18. Gymnastics. an exercise on the parallel bars in which the elbows are bent until the chin is on a level with the bars, and then the body is elevated by straightening the arms.
19. Slang. a pickpocket.

dip

²

[ dip ]

noun

, Slang.

1. dipsomaniac.

dip

³

[ dip ]

noun

, Slang.

1. a naive, foolish, or obnoxious person.

DIP

⁴

[ dip ]

noun

, Computers.

1. a packaged chip that connects to a circuit board by means of pins.

dip

¹

/ dɪp /

verb

1. to plunge or be plunged quickly or briefly into a liquid, esp to wet or coat
2. intr to undergo a slight decline, esp temporarily

   sales dipped in November

3. intr to slope downwards

   the land dips towards the river

4. intr to sink or appear to sink quickly

   the sun dipped below the horizon

5. tr to switch (car headlights) from the main to the lower beam US and Canadian worddim
6. tr
   1. to immerse (poultry, sheep, etc) briefly in a liquid chemical to rid them of or prevent infestation by insects, etc
   2. to immerse (grain, vegetables, or wood) in a preservative liquid
7. tr to stain or dye by immersing in a liquid
8. tr to baptize (someone) by immersion
9. tr to plate or galvanize (a metal, etc) by immersion in an electrolyte or electrolytic cell
10. tr to scoop up a liquid or something from a liquid in the hands or in a container
11. to lower or be lowered briefly

    she dipped her knee in a curtsy

12. tr to make (a candle) by plunging the wick into melted wax
13. intr to plunge a container, the hands, etc, into something, esp to obtain or retrieve an object

    he dipped in his pocket for money

14. intr; foll by in or into to dabble (in); play (at)

    he dipped into black magic

15. intr (of an aircraft) to drop suddenly and then regain height
16. intr (of a rock stratum or mineral vein) to slope downwards from the horizontal
17. introften foll byfor (in children's games) to select (a leader, etc) by reciting any of various rhymes
18. slang.
    tr to pick (a person's) pocket

noun

1. the act of dipping or state of being dipped
2. a brief swim in water
3. 1. any liquid chemical preparation in which poultry, sheep, etc are dipped
   2. any liquid preservative into which objects, esp of wood, are dipped
4. a preparation of dyeing agents into which fabric is immersed
5. a depression, esp in a landscape
6. something taken up by dipping
7. a container used for dipping; dipper
8. a momentary sinking down
9. the angle of slope of rock strata, fault planes, etc, from the horizontal plane
10. Also calledangle of dipmagnetic dipinclination the angle between the direction of the earth's magnetic field and the plane of the horizon; the angle that a magnetic needle free to swing in a vertical plane makes with the horizontal
11. a creamy mixture into which pieces of food are dipped before being eaten
12. surveying the angular distance of the horizon below the plane of observation
13. a candle made by plunging a wick repeatedly into wax
14. a momentary loss of altitude when flying
15. (in gymnastics) a chinning exercise on the parallel bars
16. a slang word for pickpocket

dip.

²

abbreviation for

1. diploma

dip

/ dĭp /

1. The downward inclination of a rock stratum or vein in reference to the plane of the horizon.
2. See magnetic inclination

Other Words From

• dip·pa·ble adjective noun
• un·dipped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dip¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb dippen, duppen “to dip, moisten, plunge,” Old English dyppan “to baptize”; akin to German taufen “to baptize,” and to deep

Origin of dip²

First recorded in 1910–15; by shortening

Origin of dip³

First recorded in 1925–30; probably back formation from dippy

Origin of dip⁴

d(ual) i(n-line) p(ackage)

Word History and Origins

Origin of dip¹

Old English dyppan; related to Old High German tupfen to wash, German taufen to baptize; see deep

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at the dip, Nautical. not fully raised; halfway up the halyard: Compare close ( def 70b ).

   an answering pennant flown at the dip.

Synonym Study

Dip, immerse, plunge refer to putting something into liquid. To dip is to put down into a liquid quickly or partially and lift out again: to dip a finger into water to test the temperature. Immerse denotes a lowering into a liquid until covered by it: to immerse meat in salt water. Plunge adds a suggestion of force or suddenness to the action of dipping: to plunge a chicken into boiling water before stripping off the feathers.

Example Sentences

Post pivoted toward country on his latest album “F-1 Trillion” and recently played an all-country set at Coachella’s sister festival Stagecoach, though he’ll likely dip back into his catalog of festival-friendly hip-hop for this gig.

From Los Angeles Times

While acknowledging that the double dip puts him in the holiday movie spotlight, being the center of attention is an uneasy position for Jenkins.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s not uncommon for home prices to fluctuate month to month, or dip starting in the late summer and fall due to seasonal patterns.

From Los Angeles Times

The bulk of that was due to the sharp dip as borders closed and classes went online during the COVID-19 lockdown.

From Los Angeles Times

One at a time, dip them into the plaster and arrange them around the outline of the crater, squishing and shaping them with your fingers.

From National Geographic Kids

Related Words

• downtrend
• drop
• slump