drip
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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an act of dripping.
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liquid that drips.
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the sound made by falling drops.
the irritating drip of a faucet.
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Slang. an unattractive, boring, or colorless person.
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(in house painting) the accumulation of solidified drops of paint at the bottom of a painted surface.
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Architecture, Building Trades. any device, as a molding, for shedding rainwater to keep it from running down a wall, falling onto the sill of an opening, etc.
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a pipe for draining off condensed steam from a radiator, heat exchanger, etc.
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Medicine/Medical. intravenous drip.
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Slang. maudlin sentimentality.
abbreviation
verb
noun
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the formation and falling of drops of liquid
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the sound made by falling drops
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architect a projection at the front lower edge of a sill or cornice designed to throw water clear of the wall below
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informal an inane, insipid person
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med
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the usually intravenous drop-by-drop administration of a therapeutic solution, as of salt or sugar
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the solution administered
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the equipment used to administer a solution in this way
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Other Word Forms
- nondrip adjective
Etymology
Origin of drip1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English dryppe, Old English dryppan; drop
Origin of DRIP2
First recorded in 1975–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I tug the spoon out of the shake, sending a few purple drips to the counter, and take a huge bite.
From Literature
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The walnuts are soft and buttery and the sugar syrup oozes out, dripping down my chin.
From Literature
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Anyone who has sprayed foam on a surface has likely noticed droplets forming and dripping from the bottom.
From Science Daily
A tin of beef dripping that was taken on the first successful Mount Everest expedition has been sold at auction.
From BBC
In concert, she’s powerful, hardly a princess of perfection but gorgeously garish, a fun and funny powerhouse provocateur, dripping in costumes, onstage audience members and sweat.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.