I. sop 1 /sɒp $ sɑːp/ BrE AmE noun [countable usually singular]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: sop 'bread dipped into liquid' (11-21 centuries) , from Old English sopp ]
something not very important or valuable that a government or someone in authority offers to people to stop them from complaining or protesting – used to show disapproval
sop to
The company agreed to inspect the river regularly, as a sop to the environmental lobby.
II. sop 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle sopped , present participle sopping )
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: sop 'to dip into liquid' (11-20 centuries) , from Old English soppian , from sopp ; ⇨ ↑ sop 1 ]
sop something ↔ up phrasal verb
to remove liquid from a surface by using a piece of cloth that takes the liquid into itself