I. ˈdip verb
( dipped also archaic dipt ; dipped also archaic dipt ; dipping ; dips )
Etymology: Middle English dippen, from Old English dyppan; akin to Low German düppen to wash, Old High German tupfen to wash, Old Irish domain deep, Lithuanian dubus deep, hollow
transitive verb
1.
a. : to thrust, plunge, or slip momentarily or partially under the surface of a liquid or an adhesive substance so as to moisten, drench, cool, color, or coat : immerse , souse , duck
ate clams dipping each in melted butter
dipped my arms and face in the water trough
the small parts are dipped in a primer paint — John Kobler
b. : to alter or move in a way to suggest immersion or the effect of immersion in a liquid
you have constantly to dip your hand in your pocket
2.
a. archaic : to immerse in baptizing
b. obsolete : to wet as if by immersing
a cold shuddering dew dips me all over — John Milton
3.
a. : to color by dipping (as in a dye)
b. : to make (a candle) by repeated immersion of a wick in melted fat or wax
c. : to immerse (as a sheep or hog) in an antiseptic or parasiticidal solution (as for the cure of the itch)
d. : to rub (snuff) on the teeth and gums with a brush or stick
e. : to immerse (candies) for the purpose of coating
4. : to lift a portion of by reaching below the surface with an open utensil or something shaped to hold liquid : ladle
the cook dipped our soup from the kettle
men who dip ore out of freighters with an electric shovel
5. Britain
a. archaic : involve , implicate
dipt in the rebellion — John Dryden
b. : mortgage
c. : to involve in financial difficulty
she was dipped as badly as her father — John Galsworthy
6.
a. : to lower and then raise again
put the helm alee and dip the sail
b. : to haul (an ensign) part way down and then raise again in salute
merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag
c. : to swing (a signal flag) from vertical to somewhat below horizontal and then back to vertical
d. : to lower or cause to drop down somewhat and usually temporarily
he had to dip his head to enter the cave
dipping his chin into his muffler
e. chiefly Britain : to dim or lower the beam of (automobile headlights)
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to immerse oneself : plunge into a liquid and quickly emerge
the ship's bow dipped gently into the wave
the sound of oars dipping rhythmically
after the rain the ruts dipped in and out of the puddles — Helen B. Woodward
the whale dipped playfully under the waves
b. : to immerse something into a processing liquid or finishing material
waterproofing the surface of bisque ware is done in the dipping house
2.
a. : to descend rather sharply : drop a slight distance
the sun dipped at that moment below the horizon
in Michigan three small tornadoes dipped to the ground, leveling barns — Seth King
I saw purple martins pairing, dipping, and swooping — E.A.Weeks
that the familiar prose dips into the ordinary — E.T.Williams
b. : to make an abrupt slight downward movement
we would one day enter to look round, dip over the hill, and push the gate to the locked garden — G.W.Stonier
fine brows dipping down with annoyance — Harriet La Barre
also : to bring about a lowering of something
salutes of the ensign are made by dipping — H.A.Calahan
c.
(1) of an ensign : to become dipped
regimental colors do dip in salute — Elbridge Colby
(2) of a ship : to dip its ensign
d. : to extend downward or below the surface
branches that dip in the water
e. of a plane : to drop suddenly before climbing
f. : to veer sharply
the road follows the irregular shoreline and dips back occasionally into the wooded hill country — American Guide Series: Minnesota
g. : to perform a dip in dancing
h. : to perform the gymnastic exercise constituting a dip
i. : to decline moderately and usually temporarily
prices dipped to a lower level before recovering
commodity markets dipped but losses were not extensive — Wall Street Journal
3.
a. : to reach down inside or below a surface especially for the purpose of withdrawing a part of the contents
he dipped into the pocket and drew out a mixed collection — Dorothy Sayers
one crane dipped five decks deep into No. 2 hold where the cars were carried — Vernon Pizer
b. : to appropriate a portion of some intangible
that she had dipped in the wells of blissful oblivion — George Meredith
not aware that in unjust suspicion a man dips into himself for the colors he is painting — Francis Hackett
c. : to make an inroad for funds — used with into
temptation of dipping into the public treasury to please constituents — Herbert Koshetz
d. : to dip snuff
4.
a. : to make a slight or cursory subjective excursion : delve casually, aimlessly, or tentatively here and there — usually used with into
having dipped into the past we turn to the present
the novel digressing here dips into a bit of maudlin sentimentality
I dipped into philosophy
b. : to read by sampling random disconnected passages or in the manner of browsing
an ideal volume for dipping — B.R.Redman
— usually used with into ; distinguished from skim
it is a better book to dip into than to read from cover to cover — Jane G. Mahler
c. : to explore or sample briefly or tentatively
warily dipping into the possibilities of clairvoyance and telepathy
5. : to incline downward : have a downward slant
his landing lights dipped into the blackness and then dipped more steeply — Ira Wolfert
a. : to tilt or slope downward from the horizontal
at this point in the trail land began to dip the other way
a forested cliff dips steeply to the shore
b. geology : to incline downward from the plane of the horizon
underlying the area are sedimentary rocks dipping gently eastward — M.A.Clement
frequently, however, coal seams dip steeply — H.R.Cox
c. : to tip downward
the magnetic needle dips in the direction of the earth's magnetism
d. : to take a course downgrade : have a downward pitch
the narrow highway dips and ascends like a crazy roller coaster — American Guide Series: Connecticut
6. : to engage in reaching down and lifting out something from a liquid
the whey that separates from the curd before dipping
dipping on the turpentine plantation begins about April first
7. archaic : dib
Synonyms:
dip , immerse , submerge , duck , souse , and dunk may mean to plunge a thing into water or other liquid or may apply to any figurative action suggesting this. dip implies a momentary or partial plunging or a cursory or short-lived looking or entering into (as into a subject)
dip a finger in water
dip a collar in starch
dip into archaeology
to dip into a doorway for a moment
immerse implies a total covering with liquid or a total engrossing or engaging (as in a study)
immerse the clothes in a solution of dye
become immersed in the study of history
submerge implies total and often prolonged immersion or a sinking to a low level, grade, or status
a barren, low-lying plain often partially submerged by the Mississippi — American Guide Series: Minnesota
a boat submerged in four feet of water
personality has been submerged by organization on all sides — W.P.Webb
the older agrarian simplicity of New England was being submerged by the industrial revolution — V.L.Parrington
the submerged lower classes
duck implies a sudden plunging and withdrawal
duck your head under water
while he ducks into the doctor's office and back out again — Advertising Age
duck under a low doorway
souse stresses a thorough soaking or can apply, figuratively, to any kind of saturating and, popularly, to intoxication
she soused her hands in disinfectant before she touched him — New Yorker
after being soused in the Atlantic ocean — T.B.Aldrich
they ought to have soused the conscience in repentance or good resolutions — Times Literary Supplement
he hurries to souse himself in cheap red wine — Time
dunk applies to the dipping and soaking of something (as a doughnut) in a beverage; in extension, it is similar to dip , duck , or immerse
dunk toast in her tea
men dangling from lines, being dunked in the cold sea as the ship rolled — P.B.Cronk
•
- dip one's fingers into
II. noun
( -s )
1. : an act of dipping: as
a. : a brief immersion
gaining a little with every dip of the oars
an earthenware cup ready for a dip in the glaze tub
specifically : a plunge into the water for sport or exercise
guests lingered on the beach, gossiping … and taking dips — Alec Waugh
either take dips in little side eddies or hug the banks and wade in timidly — John Mason Brown
b. : a casual or experimental delving into a book or subject
dips into heraldry
also : a transient experimental or tentative excursion
his early dip into politics
it is a Victorian-type novel, loosely constructed, with dips into sentimentality — Ruth Suckow
c. archaic : curtsy
d. : a reaching down into for withdrawing a portion
a dip in the punch bowl
a dip into the president's emergency fund
e. : a lowering in position
a flag salute is one dip of the ensign — C.D.Lane
a dip of a wigwag signal flag to the right indicates a dot
f. : a moderate decrease
a 3 percent dip in the claims for unemployment compensation
how to account for dips in his popularity
tonight's forecast is for a dip to 33°
specifically : a moderate and usually temporary decline (as in prices or revenue)
predictions of a business dip
a sharper-than-seasonal production dip
g. : a gymnastics exercise on the end of the parallel bars in which the performer, resting on his hands, lets his arms bend until his chin is level with the bars and then raises himself by straightening his arms
h.
(1) : a ballroom step in which the dancer bends one knee slightly and extends the other leg forward or backward
(2) : a square-dance step in which the dancer bends forward and passes under an arch
2. : inclination downward:
a. : downward slope, turn, or sag : divergence downward from the horizontal : pitch
the dip of the lines from ship to pier
also : decline from a level (as of performance)
her graph of accomplishment was destined for a downward dip — Saturday Review
b. : a sharp downward course or tilting
a sudden dip and rise out of a dingle — American Guide Series: Connecticut
plotting the dip of the indicator of a pressure gauge
c. : the angle that a stratum, sheet, vein, fissure, fault, or similar geological feature makes with a horizontal plane as measured in a plane normal to the strike
d. : position of an ensign hoisted part way to the yardarm or other point of hoist
on the order “fox at the dip” the code flag for the letter f was hoisted two thirds of the way
e. : an abrupt but curved lowering of the belly of an archery bow on each side of the handle
3.
a. : the vertical angle contained between the sensible horizon and a line to the visible horizon at sea, the latter because of the convexity of the earth's surface and the elevation of the observer being below the former
b. : the angle formed with the horizon by a magnetic needle free to rotate in the vertical plane of the magnetic meridian that is 0° at the magnetic equator and 90° at the magnetic poles — called also inclination
4. : depth of submergence (as of a ship, oar, paddle wheel)
5.
a. : a low spot with rather steeply sloping sides ; especially : a hollow among hills or a gap in a ridge
b. : a pronounced depression in a surface or path
the dip that was destined to be the bed of Lake Superior — American Guide Series: Minnesota
specifically : a sharp depression in a highway at the point of crossing of a dry stream bed found chiefly in the western states
6. : something obtained by or used in dipping:
a. : a candle made by repeated dippings of a wick in a fat or wax
b. : a stick or frayed twig dampened and used for dipping tobacco snuff
with a snuff dip in her mouth
c. : a portion dipped at one time
writing steadily, one dip of ink after another
a double dip of ice cream
specifically : as much snuff as clings to a dip at one dipping
d. : the viscid exudation constituting crude turpentine dipped from incisions in certain pine trees — compare scrape 5
7. : a liquid or semiliquid flavoring or savory sauce into which solid food is dipped or which is served especially on a dessert or on pie
whip up chive cream cheese into a dip for potato chips
a dip of sweetened cream on cobbler
8.
a. : a liquid preparation into which objects may be dipped or immersed (as for cleansing, coloring, staining, or coating)
a varnish dip serves to bind the whole unit together — Purchasing News
specifically : an insecticide or parasiticide for use in a dipping tank
b. : a vat or tank in which such a dip is used
a U-shaped sheep dip with a 30-foot swim
c. : a moistening and flavoring solution through which some tobaccos are drawn
9. slang : pickpocket
10. : diphead
11. slang : a man's hat
12. : a receptacle from which the contents may be dipped
individual salt dips
13. Britain : a small opening covered by a hinged flap in the floorboards of a theatrical stage for plugging leads into electric cables underneath
III. ˈdip noun
( -s )
Etymology: back-formation from dippy
: a stupid or unsophisticated person