I. sip 1 /sɪp/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle sipped , present participle sipping ) [intransitive and transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: Perhaps from sup 'to drink in small mouthfuls' (11-21 centuries) , from Old English supan ]
to drink something slowly, taking very small mouthfuls:
She was sitting at the table sipping her coffee.
sip at
He sipped at his wine with pleasure.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ sip ( also take a sip ) to drink something very slowly
▪ slurp informal to drink something in a noisy way
▪ gulp something down ( also down something ) to drink all of something very quickly
▪ knock something back informal to drink all of an alcoholic drink very quickly
▪ swig ( also take/have a swig ) informal to drink something quickly with large mouthfuls, especially from a bottle
▪ swallow to make food or drink go down your throat and towards your stomach:
She swallowed the bitter medicine instead of spitting it out.
II. sip 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
a very small amount of a drink
sip of
a sip of water
She poured more wine and took a sip.