dip
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dipIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɪp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid.
Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line; slope; pitch.
A tank or trough where cattle or sheep are immersed in chemicals to kill parasites.
A dip stick.
uncountable
Finely ground tobacco, consumed by placing a small amount between the lip and gum.
A sauce for dipping.
verb
Immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate
“Dip the garment into the cleaning solution.”
Dip into a liquid while eating
Place (candle wicks) into hot, liquid wax
transitive
To lower into a liquid.
Immerse in a disinfectant solution
intransitive
To immerse oneself; to become plunged in a liquid; to sink.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A tank or trough where cattle or sheep are immersed in chemicals to kill parasites.
Used this way, dip is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use dip
- “Dip the garment into the cleaning solution.”verb
- “I had to dip into my savings to buy him this present.”verb
- “Our property dips towards the river.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.