Definition

1. Noun:

   • A brief swim or immersion in water: A quick, often casual, swim or plunge into a body of water.
   • A tasty mixture for coating food: A savory or sweet liquid or soft mixture into which pieces of food are briefly put before eating.
   • A downward slope or hollow: A slight depression or downward incline in an otherwise level surface.
   • A sudden, typically small, decrease: A brief decline or drop in an amount, level, or value.
   • A gymnastic exercise: An exercise performed on parallel bars where the body is lowered by bending the arms and then raised again.
   • A candle made by repeated immersion: A simple candle created by repeatedly dipping a wick into melted wax.
   • The angle of magnetic inclination: (Physics) The angle a magnetic needle makes with the horizontal plane.
   • (Slang) A pickpocket: A thief who steals from people's pockets or bags in public places.

2. Verb:

   • To put something briefly into a liquid: To lower something into a liquid and quickly lift it out again, often to coat, wet, or clean it.
   • To move downward: To go down or slope downwards; to appear to sink below a line, like the horizon.
   • To lower and raise quickly: To move something down briefly and then back up.
   • To take a small amount from a supply: To use a portion of something, especially money or savings.
   • To immerse oneself briefly: To go into water for a short swim or plunge.
   • To read or investigate superficially: To look into a book or subject briefly or casually.
   • To dim vehicle headlights: To switch car headlights from the main (high) beam to the lower (dipped) beam.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • We went for a quick dip in the lake before lunch.
  • The recipe calls for a cheese dip for the vegetables.
  • Be careful driving; there's a sharp dip in the road ahead.
  • The company reported a slight dip in quarterly profits.

• Verb:

  • Dip the paintbrush into the can.
  • The road dips as it goes into the valley.
  • The sun began to dip below the mountains.
  • She had to dip into her emergency fund to pay for the repair.

Advanced Usage

• "to dip a toe in": To try something new or unfamiliar in a very cautious, tentative way.

  • He's dipping a toe in the water by taking one evening class before committing to the full course.

• "to dip out" (informal, chiefly British): To leave or not participate, often suddenly.

  • I'm feeling tired, so I think I'll dip out of the party early.

• "to dip one's pen in gall": To write in a very bitter, spiteful, or malicious manner. (Idiomatic/Literary)

  • The critic seemed to dip his pen in gall for that scathing review.

Variants and Related Words

• Dipped (adj): Lowered or submerged. Also, (archaic) referring to a type of candle.
  • The artist used a dipped brush to create the effect.
• Dipper (n): 1. A ladle or cup for dipping. 2. A type of bird. 3. (The Dipper) A nickname for the Big Dipper constellation.
• Dipping (n/adj): The action or process of dipping. Also used as an adjective (e.g., a dipping sauce).

Synonyms

• Noun (for decrease): Drop, decline, fall, reduction.
• Noun (for slope): Hollow, depression, incline, declivity.
• Verb (to immerse): Dunk, plunge, immerse, submerge.
• Verb (to decline): Drop, fall, descend, sink.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Dip into:

  • To use part of a supply, especially money.

    • We had to dip into our savings for the vacation.
  • To read or sample parts of a book or subject briefly.

    • I like to dip into that poetry anthology now and then.
  • To put one's hand into a container to take something out.

    • She dipped into the jar and took a cookie.

• Dip down: To descend or go down to a lower level.

  • The temperature is expected to dip down tonight.

Related Idioms

• Lucky dip (British English; "grab bag" in American English): A game or situation where you take something at random without knowing what it is.

  • The children's party had a lucky dip full of small toys.

• Skinny-dip: To swim naked.

  • They decided to go for a midnight skinny-dip.

• Dip one's lid/topper (Australian/NZ informal): To raise or touch one's hat as a greeting or sign of respect.

Noun

1. a gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the body is lowered and raised by bending and straightening the arms
2. a brief swim in water
3. a candle that is made by repeated dipping in a pool of wax or tallow
4. a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity
   • a drop of 57 points on the Dow Jones index
   • there was a drop in pressure in the pulmonary artery
   • a dip in prices
   • when that became known the price of their stock went into free fall
5. a brief immersion
6. tasty mixture or liquid into which bite-sized foods are dipped
7. a thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places
8. (physics) the angle that a magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon
9. a depression in an otherwise level surface
   • there was a dip in the road

Verb

1. scoop up by plunging one's hand or a ladle below the surface
   • dip water out of a container
2. plunge (one's hand or a receptacle) into a container
   • He dipped into his pocket
3. immerse in a disinfectant solution
   • dip the sheep
4. place (candle wicks) into hot, liquid wax
5. dip into a liquid
   • He dipped into the pool
6. slope downwards
   • Our property dips towards the river
7. appear to move downward
   • The sun dipped below the horizon
   • The setting sun sank below the tree line
8. lower briefly
   • She dipped her knee
9. switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam
10. take a small amount from
    • I had to dip into my savings to buy him this present
11. stain an object by immersing it in a liquid
12. go down momentarily
    • Prices dipped
13. dip into a liquid while eating
    • She dunked the piece of bread in the sauce
14. 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