dip

When you dip something, you plunge it quickly into a liquid or soft substance. You might dip your toe into a swimming pool to check the water temperature.

When you finger paint, you dip a fingertip into a puddle of paint, and when you eat a snack you might dip tortilla chips into salsa. You can also say that a boat bobbing on the ocean dips, or that a bird dropping lower in the sky dips down. A dip can be a quick swim, a delicious sauce meant for dunking other foods in, or a downward slope. The Old English root, dyppan, means "immerse" or "baptize."

Definitions of dip
  1. verb
    immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate
    “dip the garment into the cleaning solution”
    “dip the brush into the paint”
    synonyms: douse, dunk, plunge, souse
    see moresee less
    types:
    sop
    dip into liquid
    douse, duck
    dip into a liquid
    dabble
    dip a foot or hand briefly into a liquid
    type of:
    immerse, plunge
    thrust or throw into
  2. verb
    dip into a liquid
    “He dipped into the pool”
    synonyms: douse, duck
    see moresee less
    type of:
    douse, dunk, plunge, souse
    immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate
  3. verb
    dip into a liquid while eating
    synonyms: dunk
    see moresee less
    type of:
    eat
    take in solid food
  4. verb
    immerse in a disinfectant solution
    “dip the sheep”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    immerse, plunge
    thrust or throw into
  5. verb
    stain an object by immersing it in a liquid
    see moresee less
    type of:
    stain
    color with a liquid dye or tint
  6. verb
    place (candle wicks) into hot, liquid wax
    see moresee less
    type of:
    create from raw material, create from raw stuff
    make from scratch
  7. noun
    a brief immersion
    see moresee less
    type of:
    immersion, submergence, submerging, submersion
    sinking until covered completely with water
  8. noun
    a brief swim in water
    synonyms: plunge
    see moresee less
    type of:
    swim, swimming
    the act of swimming
  9. noun
    tasty mixture or liquid into which bite-sized foods are dipped
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 4 types...
    hide 4 types...
    bean dip
    a dip made of cooked beans
    cheese dip
    a dip made of cheeses
    clam dip
    a dip made of clams and soft cream cheese
    guacamole
    a dip made of mashed avocado mixed with chopped onions and other seasonings
    type of:
    condiment
    a preparation (a sauce or relish or spice) to enhance flavor or enjoyment
  10. noun
    a candle that is made by repeated dipping in a pool of wax or tallow
    see moresee less
    type of:
    candle, taper, wax light
    stick of wax with a wick in the middle
  11. verb
    appear to move downward
    “The sun dipped below the horizon”
    synonyms: sink
    see moresee less
    types:
    subside
    sink to a lower level or form a depression
    type of:
    decline
    go down
  12. verb
    go down momentarily
    “Prices dipped”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    decline, go down, wane
    grow smaller
  13. verb
    plunge (one's hand or a receptacle) into a container
    “He dipped into his pocket”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    immerse, plunge
    thrust or throw into
  14. verb
    scoop up by plunging one's hand or a ladle below the surface
    “dip water out of a container”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    lift out, scoop, scoop out, scoop up, take up
    take out or up with or as if with a scoop
  15. verb
    lower briefly
    “She dipped her knee”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    bring down, get down, let down, lower, take down
    move something or somebody to a lower position
  16. verb
    switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam
    synonyms: dim
    see moresee less
    type of:
    change intensity
    increase or decrease in intensity
  17. verb
    slope downwards
    “Our property dips towards the river”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    incline, pitch, slope
    be at an angle
  18. noun
    a depression in an otherwise level surface
    “there was a dip in the road”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    depression, impression, imprint
    a concavity in a surface produced by pressing
  19. noun
    a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity
    “a dip in prices”
    synonyms: drop, fall, free fall
    see moresee less
    types:
    correction
    a drop in stock market activity or stock prices following a period of increases
    voltage drop
    a decrease in voltage along a conductor through which current is flowing
    type of:
    decrease, decrement
    the amount by which something decreases
  20. noun
    a gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the body is lowered and raised by bending and straightening the arms
    see moresee less
    type of:
    gymnastic exercise
    (gymnastics) an exercise designed to develop and display strength and agility and balance (usually performed with or on some gymnastic apparatus)
  21. noun
    a thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places
    synonyms: cutpurse, pickpocket
    see moresee less
    type of:
    stealer, thief
    a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
  22. verb
    take a small amount from
    “I had to dip into my savings to buy him this present”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    draw, draw off, take out, withdraw
    remove (a commodity) from (a supply source)
  23. noun
    (physics) the angle that a magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon
    synonyms: angle of dip, inclination, magnetic dip, magnetic inclination
    see moresee less
    type of:
    angle
    the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians
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