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

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

Home prices across Southern California have dipped for three straight months, but remain near their all-time highs, according to Zillow.

From Los Angeles Times

Southern California home prices dipped in October for the third straight month, but values remain near all-time highs and unaffordable for most households.

From Los Angeles Times

A plane dips low over a smoldering ridgetop and unleashes a ribbon of fire retardant, coating the hillside a bright pink.

From Los Angeles Times

But having dipped their toes in live boxing, perhaps Netflix will now retreat.

From BBC

Related Words

• downtrend
• drop
• slump

More About Dip

What is a basic definition of dip?

Dip means to plunge something quickly in a liquid or to sink or go downward. A dip is a creamy mixture that chips or other foods are scooped into. Dip has many other senses as a verb and a noun.

When something is dipped into a liquid, it is usually only submerged for a short time to soak up some liquid.

• Real-life examples: Candy or scoops of ice cream may be dipped in chocolate or caramel. A paint brush is dipped in paint. A thermometer might be dipped in a pool to measure temperature.
• Used in a sentence: I dipped my foot in the pool to see how cold it was. 

Dip can also mean to descend or go down, especially temporarily.

• Real-life examples: Temperatures dip when it becomes cold. Prices tend to dip during the holidays. A company’s stock value may dip.
• Used in a sentence: Oil prices dipped after the announcement of a new line of electric cars. 

Dips are creamy mixes that foods are dipped into. In this sense, another noun is often used as a modifier to specify what the main ingredients of the dip are, as in a cheese dip or a buffalo chicken dip. Grocery stores sell popular dips, but many dips are homemade.

• Used in a sentence: I know how to make a pretty good spinach dip.

Where does dip come from?

The first records of dip come from before the year 1000. It ultimately comes from the Old English dyppan, meaning “to baptize.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to dip?

• dipper (noun)
• dippable (adjective)
• undipped (adjective)

What are some synonyms for dip?

• plunge
• dive
• decline
• lower
• descend
• mixture

What are some words that share a root or word element with dip? 

• dip into
• dipstick
• dip switch
• dip one’s toes into

What are some words that often get used in discussing dip?

• liquid
• downward
• food
• chips
• mixture

How is dip used in real life?

Dip is a common word that most often means to briefly put something in liquid or to go down.

The waitress brought me ranch AND BBQ sauce to dip my chicken tenders in and now I know what love feels like.

— elijah daniel (@elijahdaniel) December 27, 2014

If this ends 2-1 Fernandes will have scored United's winners in all three Premier League games this season. His performance level has dipped but he does not lack bottle. #mufc

— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) November 7, 2020

Ordered an extra cheese dip for our breadsticks and pizza tonight and they accidentally gave us 2 extra orders of breadsticks. I let them know and they let us keep them. I call that a win!

— Hunter Petroviak (@Hunter_TVNews) January 16, 2021

Try using dip!

True or False?

When you dip something in a liquid, you let it soak for a long time.