Definition

1. Noun:

   • Slang for inside information: Secret or confidential information, especially about a specific situation or event.
   • A carbonated soft drink: (Southern US slang) A sweet, carbonated beverage, often cola-flavored.
   • An ignorant or foolish person: A term for someone who is considered stupid or slow-witted.
   • Street name for marijuana: A common informal term for cannabis.
   • A thick liquid or varnish: A substance used for coating or treating a surface, such as aircraft fabric.

2. Verb:

   • To administer a drug: To give a narcotic or stimulant to someone or something.
   • To add impurities: In electronics, to intentionally add small amounts of other elements to a semiconductor to alter its electrical properties.
   • To use drugs: To take drugs, especially to enhance athletic performance.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • He promised to give me the dope on what really happened at the meeting. (Inside information)
  • In some parts of the South, a "dope" is just a bottle of soda. (Soft drink)
  • Don't be such a dope; that's obviously the wrong answer. (Foolish person)
  • The police found dope in his car during the search. (Marijuana)
  • The old airplane's wings were treated with dope to tighten the fabric. (Varnish)

• Verb:

  • The scandal revealed that trainers had been doping racehorses for years. (Administering drugs)
  • Silicon must be doped with other elements to make it useful for computer chips. (Adding impurities)
  • The cyclist was banned from competition for doping. (Using performance-enhancing drugs)

Advanced Usage

• "The straight dope": The complete and honest truth about something.

  • Just give me the straight dope—can we finish the project on time or not?

• "To dope something out": To figure something out or understand it.

  • It took me a while to dope out the instructions for the new software.

Variants and Related Words

• Doped (adj): Describes a semiconductor that has had impurities added, or a person/animal that has been given drugs.

  • A doped semiconductor is essential for modern electronics.
  • The doped athlete was disqualified.

• Doper (n): Slang for a person who uses or deals illegal drugs.

• Dopey (adj): Feeling sluggish or stupid, as if under the influence of drugs; also meaning silly or foolish.
  • The medication made him feel dopey and confused.

Synonyms

• Noun (Information): Scoop, lowdown, info.
• Noun (Fool): Dunce, idiot, simpleton.
• Noun (Marijuana): Pot, weed, grass.
• Verb (Administer drugs): Drug, sedate, tamper with.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Dope up: To administer drugs to someone, often to make them sleepy or less aware.
  • The nurses had to dope him up to manage the severe pain.

Related Idioms

• A dope fiend/slap: (Slang, offensive) A person who is heavily addicted to drugs.
• A dope test/screening: A test to check for the presence of performance-enhancing or illegal drugs in an athlete's body.
  • All Olympic athletes must undergo a dope test.

Noun

1. slang terms for inside information
   • is that the straight dope?
2. carbonated drink flavored with extract from kola nuts (`dope' is a southernism in the United States)
3. an ignorant or foolish person
4. street names for marijuana

Verb

1. give a narcotic to
   • The athletes were dope by the coach before the race
2. add impurities to (a semiconductor) in order to produce or modify its properties
   • The resistors have been doped
3. take drugs to improve one's athletic performance