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

As updates trickled in, Mahama became increasingly anxious - he had heard no word from his father.

From BBC

A tear trickled down the cheek of the Scotland manager.

From BBC

That pressure is very often from players and managers in the fierce hothouse of elite-level football, trickling right down to the grassroots.

From BBC

But one party is committed to democracy and democratic norms, and that trickles down.

From Salon

Democrats, meanwhile, are hoping that the last votes trickling in in a handful of tight races will be enough to give them a majority in the House.

From BBC

Related Words

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