What does "dip" mean?
A lower section of a road or geological feature.
Dip
/dɪp/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A lower section of a road or geological feature.
- Grammar: dip is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: drop, inclination, acid bath, alveolation.
- Useful contrasts: second rise, brushing, crest of a hill.
- Usage evidence: If we have money problems we can always dip into our savings.
How to use "dip"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dip" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dip" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dip" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dip" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dip" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "drop" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dip", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A lower section of a road or geological feature. countable, uncountable
"There is a dip in the road ahead."
- 2 A foolish person. informal
"A commander tells the soldiers, "We're going on a 5 mile run". And some dip asks, "Do we have to bring our kitbags?" At which point, the answer is yes. It wouldn't have been if the soldier hadn't asked the question."
- 3 Initialism of device-independent pixel. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 A diplomat. informal
- 5 Acronym of dual in-line package. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
Show 28 more definitions
- 6 a gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the body is lowered and raised by bending and straightening the arms wordnet
- 7 Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line; slope; pitch. countable, uncountable
- 8 A diaper; diap, dipe. informal, uncommon
- 9 Acronym of dependency inversion principle. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
- 10 a brief swim in water wordnet
- 11 The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid. countable, uncountable
"With his precious charge / Embark'd, Sinicus gently ſteers along; / The dip of oars in uniſon awake / Without alarming ſilence; […]"
- 12 a candle that is made by repeated dipping in a pool of wax or tallow wordnet
- 13 A tank or trough where cattle or sheep are immersed in chemicals to kill parasites. countable, uncountable
- 14 a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity wordnet
- 15 A dip stick. countable, uncountable
- 16 a brief immersion wordnet
- 17 A swim, usually a short swim to refresh. countable, uncountable
"I’m going for a dip before breakfast."
- 18 tasty mixture or liquid into which bite-sized foods are dipped wordnet
- 19 A pickpocket. colloquial, countable, dated, uncountable
"The Moocher was a "dip" in a dilettante sort of way, and his particular graft was boarding street-cars with his papers and grabbing women's pocket-books."
- 20 a thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places wordnet
- 21 A sauce for dipping. countable, uncountable
"This onion dip is just scrumptious."
- 22 (physics) the angle that a magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon wordnet
- 23 The angle from horizontal of a planar geologic surface, such as a fault line. countable, uncountable
- 24 a depression in an otherwise level surface wordnet
- 25 A dipped candle. archaic, countable, uncountable
"by the feeble light of the dip, he beheld the pale, haggard face of Smallbones"
- 26 A move in many different styles of partner dances, often performed at the end of a dance, in which the follower leans far to the side and is supported by the leader. countable, uncountable
- 27 A gymnastic or bodybuilding exercise on parallel bars in which the performer, resting on his hands, lets his arms bend and his body sink until his chin is level with the bars, and then raises himself by straightening his arms. countable, uncountable
- 28 The viscid exudation that is dipped out from incisions in the trees. Virgin dip is the runnings of the first year, yellow dip the runnings of subsequent years. countable, uncountable
- 29 A sudden drop followed by a climb, usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting into an airhole. countable, uncountable
- 30 Finely ground tobacco, consumed by placing a small amount between the lip and gum. uncountable
"Packed a lip full of beluga caviar after mistaking a tin for a can of dip and then spat the juice into an urn that I thought was a sombre spittoon."
- 31 The act of missing out on seeing a sought after bird. colloquial, countable, uncountable
"I'd missed them by a couple of hours. This dip did not bode well for the Hudwit."
- 32 Fried bread. UK, dialectal, uncountable
"My Dad, God bless him, rarely cooked anything, but if he ever did he would make himself an egg banjo! Fried bread? Or ‘dip’?"
- 33 A financial asset in decline, seen as an investment opportunity. countable, informal, uncountable
"buy the dips"
Verb
- 1 To lower into a liquid. transitive
"Dip your biscuit into your tea."
- 2 stain an object by immersing it in a liquid wordnet
- 3 To immerse oneself; to become plunged in a liquid; to sink. intransitive
"The sun's rim dips; the stars rush out."
- 4 go down momentarily wordnet
- 5 (of a value or rate) To decrease slightly. intransitive
Show 30 more definitions
- 6 dip into a liquid while eating wordnet
- 7 To lower a light's beam. transitive
"Dip your lights as you meet an oncoming car."
- 8 scoop up by plunging one's hand or a ladle below the surface wordnet
- 9 To lower (a flag), particularly a national ensign, to a partially hoisted position in order to render or to return a salute. While lowered, the flag is said to be “at the dip.” A flag being carried on a staff may be dipped by leaning it forward at an approximate angle of 45 degrees. transitive
"The sailor rushed to the flag hoist to dip the flag in return."
- 10 immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate wordnet
- 11 To treat cattle or sheep by immersion in chemical solution. transitive
"The farmer is going to dip the cattle today."
- 12 plunge (one's hand or a receptacle) into a container wordnet
- 13 To use a dip stick to check oil level in an engine. transitive
- 14 immerse in a disinfectant solution wordnet
- 15 To consume snuff by placing a pinch behind the lip or under the tongue so that the active chemical constituents of the snuff may be absorbed into the system for their narcotic effect.
- 16 place (candle wicks) into hot, liquid wax wordnet
- 17 To immerse for baptism. transitive
"new dipt Sectaries"
- 18 dip into a liquid wordnet
- 19 To wet, as if by immersing; to moisten. transitive
"A cold shuddering dew / Dips me all o'er."
- 20 slope downwards wordnet
- 21 To plunge or engage thoroughly in any affair. intransitive
"He was […] dipt in the rebellion of the Commons."
- 22 appear to move downward wordnet
- 23 To take out, by dipping a dipper, ladle, or other receptacle, into a fluid and removing a part; often with out. transitive
"to dip water from a boiler; to dip out water"
- 24 lower briefly wordnet
- 25 To perform the action of plunging a dipper, ladle. etc. into a liquid or soft substance and removing a part. intransitive
"Whoever dips too deep will find death in the pot."
- 26 switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam wordnet
- 27 To engage as a pledge; to mortgage. transitive
"Live on the use and never dip thy lands."
- 28 take a small amount from wordnet
- 29 To perform (a bow or curtsey) by inclining the body. transitive
- 30 To sink, drop, or slope downwards. intransitive
"The sun is dipping over the now dry and clear Cornish landscape, and is a conclusion to a good day."
- 31 To incline downward from the plane of the horizon. intransitive
"Strata of rock dip."
- 32 To perform a dip dance move (often phrased with the leader as the subject noun and the follower as the subject noun being dipped) transitive
- 33 To briefly lower the body by bending the knees while keeping the body in an upright position, usually in rhythm, as when singing or dancing. transitive
- 34 To leave; to quit or abandon. colloquial, intransitive
"When the time came, he dipped."
- 35 To miss out on seeing a sought after bird. colloquial
"I assured him that I'd been birding long enough to know that there were no guarantees with birds and I wouldn't have held it against him if I'd dipped."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"If we have money problems we can always dip into our savings."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dip"?
Common synonyms include: drop, inclination, acid bath, alveolation, alveolus, angle of dip.
How do you use "dip" in a sentence?
If we have money problems we can always dip into our savings.
How do you pronounce "dip"?
Pronounced /dɪp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English dippen, from Old English dyppan, from Proto-West Germanic *duppjan, from Proto-Germanic *dupjaną; see *daupijaną (“to dip”). Related to deep.
Etymology 2
Back-formation from dippy.
Etymology 3
Shortenings.