Definition

Noun: 1. A very small quantity or amount, especially of a liquid; a tiny drop or trickle. This refers to a minuscule, often barely measurable, portion of something, typically used for liquids but can extend to other things like money or abstract quantities. 2. A small, incremental portion or installment, often of money. This sense emphasizes payment or provision in very small, successive amounts over time.

Examples

• As a small quantity:

  • Only a driblet of water remained in the canteen after the long hike.
  • Add just a driblet of vanilla extract to the mixture for flavor.

• As a small installment:

  • The debt was repaid in driblets over several years.
  • Funding for the project arrived in frustrating driblets, slowing progress.

Advanced Usage

• "driblet by driblet": An adverbial phrase meaning little by little, in very small increments.
  • The information was leaked to the public driblet by driblet.
  • He saved the large sum driblet by driblet.

Variants and Related Words

• Dribble (verb/noun): As a verb, it means to flow or let flow in small drops. As a noun, it can mean a small, irregular flow of liquid or, in sports, the act of moving a ball with repeated small kicks or bounces.
  • Water dribbled from the tap. (verb)
  • There was only a dribble of ketchup left in the bottle. (noun)

Synonyms

• Drop: A very small amount of liquid.
• Trickle: A small, slow flow of liquid.
• Dab: A small amount of something soft or moist.
• Modicum: A small quantity of something, often abstract (e.g., a modicum of respect).
• Smattering: A small, scattered amount.

Antonyms

• Torrent: A strong and fast-moving stream of water or other liquid.
• Flood: An overflowing of a large amount of water.
• Deluge: A severe flood; a heavy downpour.
• Abundance: A very large quantity of something.

Noun

1. a small indefinite quantity (especially of a liquid)
   • he had a drop too much to drink
   • a drop of each sample was analyzed
   • there is not a drop of pity in that man
   • years afterward, they would pay the blood-money, driblet by driblet--Kipling