trickle

[ trik-uhl ]

verb (used without object)

, trick·led, trick·ling.

1. to flow or fall by drops, or in a small, gentle stream:

   Tears trickled down her cheeks.

2. to come, go, or pass bit by bit, slowly, or irregularly:

   The guests trickled out of the room.

verb (used with object)

, trick·led, trick·ling.

1. to cause to trickle.

noun

1. a trickling flow or stream.

   Synonyms: drip, seepage, dribble

2. a small, slow, or irregular quantity of anything coming, going, or proceeding:

   a trickle of visitors throughout the day.

trickle

/ ˈtrɪkəl /

verb

1. to run or cause to run in thin or slow streams

   she trickled the sand through her fingers

2. intr to move, go, or pass gradually

   the crowd trickled away

noun

1. a thin, irregular, or slow flow of something
2. the act of trickling

Derived Forms

• ˈtrickling, adjective
• ˈtrickly, adjective
• ˈtricklingly, adverb

Other Words From

• trickling·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of trickle¹

1325–75; Middle English triklen, trekelen (v.), apparently sandhi variant of strikle, perhaps equivalent to strike (in obsolete sense “flow”) + -le

Word History and Origins

Origin of trickle¹

C14: perhaps of imitative origin

Example Sentences

His proximity to the Harris campaign—he even spoke at the DNC for some reason—had D.C. progressives worried, as news reports continued to trickle out about West’s moves to ally the Harris agenda with Wall Street and Silicon Valley and disavow the populism of Joe Biden.

From Slate

They celebrated as results continued to trickle in, showing him leading in the presidential race.

From Los Angeles Times

On the ground, our correspondents are bringing us the mood from the swing states as results continue to trickle in.

From BBC

About 70% of Gascón’s supporters said partisan affiliation played a role in their decision, and it’s possible undecided voters could trickle toward the incumbent given Democrats hold a massive advantage in voter registration in L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

Running on adrenaline and continuous infusions of caffeine, its analysts and data scientists were glued to their monitors around the clock, watching the slow trickle of results from Pennsylvania that ultimately would decide the race.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crawl
• creep
• dribble
• flow
• leak
• ooze
• percolate
• seep
• stream