driblet
/'driblit/ Cách viết khác : (dribblet) /'driblit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
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
- 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