What does "sip" mean?
A small mouthful of drink
Sip
/sɪp/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small mouthful of drink
- Grammar: sip is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: beverage, bib, bite, booze.
- Useful contrasts: abundance, chug, chugging.
- Usage evidence: I had to sip the coffee because it was too hot.
How to use "sip"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sip" 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 "sip" 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 "sip" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sip" 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 "sip" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "beverage" 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 "sip", 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 small mouthful of drink
- 2 Acronym of single-issue publication. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 3 a small drink wordnet
- 4 An event at which people drink alcohol in small, usually sub-intoxicating amounts.
"Earl is always a good time. His appearance at parties, whether it's a smart cocktail sip or a basement gig, is mandatory."
Verb
- 1 To drink slowly, small mouthfuls at a time. transitive
"He held out to me a bowl of steaming broth, that filled the room with a savour sweeter, ten thousand times, to me than every rose and lily of the world; yet would not let me drink it at a gulp, but made me sip it with a spoon like any baby."
- 2 drink in sips wordnet
- 3 To drink a small quantity. intransitive
"[She] rais'd it to her mouth with sober grace; / Then, sipping, offered to the next in place."
- 4 To taste the liquor of; to drink out of.
"They skim the floods, and sip the purple flowers."
- 5 Alternative form of seep. Scotland, US, alt-of, alternative, dated
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To consume slowly. figuratively
"Sales of lightbulbs which sip electricity, and whose increased cost in the shops is easily paid for over their lifetime, used to double every year; in 1990/1991, they leapt sevenfold."
Proper Noun
- 1 Initialism of Session Initiation Protocol Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 2 Initialism of Supplementary Ideographic Plane, the third plane (Plane 2) in Unicode, with 65,536 codepoints (from U+20000 through U+2FFFF), mainly used for less-common CJK characters. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 3 Initialism of System Integrity Protection. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 Initialism of Strengthening Institutions Program. US, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
"“The Budget does not include funding for the Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP). SIP is duplicative of other Title III and V program funding for institutional support activities."
Example
"I had to sip the coffee because it was too hot."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sip"?
Common synonyms include: beverage, bib, bite, booze, bumper, cast.
How do you use "sip" in a sentence?
I had to sip the coffee because it was too hot.
How do you pronounce "sip"?
Pronounced /sɪp/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English sippen, of uncertain origin. Compare with Low German sippen (“to sip”). Possibly from a variant of Middle English suppen (“to drink, sip”) (see sup) or perhaps from Old English sipian, sypian (“to take in moisture, soak, macerate”), from Proto-Germanic *sipōną (“to drip, trickle”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyb- (“to pour out, trickle, leak out”). Compare also Old High German supfen (“to drink, sip”), from Proto-Germanic *sūpaną (“to sip, intake”).