Definition of "dip"

dip¹

/dɪp/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural dips
1. A lower section of a road or geological feature.
  Quotations
  They were all doomed to be disappointed, however, for the errant engine decided at Stanley junction to spend the remainder of its crowded hour of freedom on the Aberdeen line, and finally came to rest, short of breath, in the dip between Ballathie and Cargill, near the bridge over the Tay.
  1941 October, “Notes and News: A Highland Runaway”, in Railway Magazine, page 469
  After a signal check at Darley Dale, on the third run, the Pacific mounted the long 1 in 100 at a steady 53-54 m.p.h. and attained a brief 60 m.p.h. in the short dip before Monsal Dale.
  1960 March, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, pages 177–178
2. Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line; slope; pitch.
3. The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid.
  Quotations
  With his precious charge / Embark'd, Sinicus gently ſteers along; / The dip of oars in uniſon awake / Without alarming ſilence; […]
  a. 1786, [Richard Glover], “Book the Seventh”, in [Mrs. Halsey], editor, The Athenaid, a Poem, […], volume I, London: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], published 1787, page 184, lines 293–296
4. A tank or trough where cattle or sheep are immersed in chemicals to kill parasites.
5. A dip stick.
6. A swim, usually a short swim to refresh.
7. (colloquial, dated) A pickpocket.
  Quotations
  The Moocher was a "dip" in a dilettante sort of way, and his particular graft was boarding street-cars with his papers and grabbing women's pocket-books.
  1906, Fred L. Boalt, "The Snitcher", McClure's Magazine v.26, p.633
  To steal a housewife's purse might mean that her children would have to go hungry; but what of that, if the flash young “dip” could gain admiration from his mates by boasting that he had “frisked a judy's cly and lifted a skinful of bunce”?
  1959, Frank Clune, Murders on Maunga-tapu, page 10
8. A sauce for dipping.
9. (geology) The angle from horizontal of a planar geologic surface, such as a fault line.
10. (archaic) A dipped candle.
  Quotations
  by the feeble light of the dip, he beheld the pale, haggard face of Smallbones
  1837, Frederick Marryat, Snarleyyow, or the Dog Fiend
11. (dance) A move in many different styles of partner dances, often performed at the end of a dance, in which the follower leans far to the side and is supported by the leader.
12. (bodybuilding) A gymnastic or bodybuilding exercise on parallel bars in which the performer, resting on his hands, lets his arms bend and his body sink until his chin is level with the bars, and then raises himself by straightening his arms.
13. (turpentine industry) The viscid exudation that is dipped out from incisions in the trees. Virgin dip is the runnings of the first year, yellow dip the runnings of subsequent years.
14. (aeronautics) A sudden drop followed by a climb, usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting into an airhole.
15. (uncountable) Finely ground tobacco, consumed by placing a small amount between the lip and gum.
  Quotations
  Packed a lip full of beluga caviar after mistaking a tin for a can of dip and then spat the juice into an urn that I thought was a sombre spittoon.
  2018 October 13, Alex Watt, “Everything I've Done That Made a Rich Old Lady with Opera Glasses Faint or a Monocle Fall Out of a Rich Guy's Eye”, in The New Yorker‎, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, archived from the original on 2022-12-18
16. (birdwatching, colloquial) The act of missing out on seeing a sought after bird.
  Quotations
  I'd missed them by a couple of hours. This dip did not bode well for the Hudwit.
  2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 124
17. (UK, dialect, uncountable, Birmingham) Fried bread.
  Quotations
  My Dad, God bless him, rarely cooked anything, but if he ever did he would make himself an egg banjo! Fried bread? Or ‘dip’?
  2020 May 29, Bocca della Verita (@BocaVerite), Twitter‎
18. (finance, informal) A financial asset in decline, seen as an investment opportunity.
verb
third-person singular simple present dips, present participle dipping, simple past and past participle dipped
1. (transitive) To lower into a liquid.
  Quotations
  He dipped the end of a towel in cold water and with it began to flick him on the face, his wife all the while holding her face between her hands and sobbing in a way that was heart breaking to hear.
  1897, Bram Stoker, chapter 21, in Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library
2. (intransitive) To immerse oneself; to become plunged in a liquid; to sink.
  Quotations
  The sun's rim dips; the stars rush out.
  1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798
3. (intransitive) (of a value or rate) To decrease slightly.
4. (transitive) To lower a light's beam.
5. (transitive) To lower (a flag), particularly a national ensign, to a partially hoisted position in order to render or to return a salute. While lowered, the flag is said to be “at the dip.” A flag being carried on a staff may be dipped by leaning it forward at an approximate angle of 45 degrees.
6. (transitive) To treat cattle or sheep by immersion in chemical solution.
7. (transitive) To use a dip stick to check oil level in an engine.
8. To consume snuff by placing a pinch behind the lip or under the tongue so that the active chemical constituents of the snuff may be absorbed into the system for their narcotic effect.
9. (transitive) To immerse for baptism.
  Quotations
  new dipt Sectaries
  , Thomas Fuller, The Appeal of Iniured Innocence
  […] during the reigns of King James and King Charles I, there were but very few children dipped in the font.
  c. 1722, Charles Wheatly, A rational illustration of the Book of Common Prayer
10. (transitive) To wet, as if by immersing; to moisten.
  Quotations
  A cold shuddering dew / Dips me all o'er.
  1646 (indicated as 1645), John Milton, “Comus”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […]
11. (intransitive) To plunge or engage thoroughly in any affair.
  Quotations
  He was […] dipt in the rebellion of the Commons.
  1700, [John] Dryden, “Preface”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […]
12. (transitive) To take out, by dipping a dipper, ladle, or other receptacle, into a fluid and removing a part; often with out.
13. (intransitive) To perform the action of plunging a dipper, ladle. etc. into a liquid or soft substance and removing a part.
  Quotations
  Whoever dips too deep will find death in the pot.
  1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […]
14. (transitive) To engage as a pledge; to mortgage.
  Quotations
  Live on the use and never dip thy lands.
  1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Sixth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […]
15. (transitive) To perform (a bow or curtsey) by inclining the body.
16. (intransitive) To incline downward from the plane of the horizon.
  Quotations
  The tunnel dips approximately 15 metres below Regents Canal and has a rising gradient at its northern end of 1-in-107.
  2021 June 16, Dr David Turner, “The latest face of Gasworks Tunnel”, in RAIL, number 933, page 34, photo caption
17. (transitive, dance) To perform a dip dance move (often phrased with the leader as the subject noun and the follower as the subject noun being dipped)
18. (transitive) To briefly lower the body by bending the knees while keeping the body in an upright position, usually in rhythm, as when singing or dancing.
19. (intransitive, colloquial) To leave.
  Quotations
  Remember on my first lick, got lost in a house / Had to dip, bro, quick, before the dogs came out
  2020 April 7, “Did Alotta”, Kai Bandz (lyrics), 1:07
20. (birdwatching, colloquial) To miss out on seeing a sought after bird.
  Quotations
  I assured him that I'd been birding long enough to know that there were no guarantees with birds and I wouldn't have held it against him if I'd dipped.
  2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 124

dip²

/dɪp/

noun
plural dips
1. (informal) A foolish person.
  Quotations
  A commander tells the soldiers, "We're going on a 5 mile run". And some dip asks, "Do we have to bring our kitbags?" At which point, the answer is yes. It wouldn't have been if the soldier hadn't asked the question.
  2001 January 1, Lisa Beth, “Question of Conversion”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated‎ (Usenet)

dip³

/dɪp/

noun
plural dips
1. (computer graphics) Initialism of device-independent pixel.

dip⁴

/dɪp/

noun
plural dips
1. (informal) A diplomat.

Definition of "dip"

dip1

noun

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verb

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dip2

noun

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dip3

noun

dip4

noun

dip¹

dip²

dip³

dip⁴