Definition of "trickle"

trickle

/ˈtɹɪkəl/

noun
plural trickles
1. A very thin river.
2. A very thin flow; the act of trickling.
  Quotations
  The streams that run south and east from the mountains to the coast are short and rapid torrents after a storm, but at other times dwindle to feeble trickles of mud.
  1897, James Bryce, Impressions of South Africa
verb
third-person singular simple present trickles, present participle trickling, simple past and past participle trickled
1. (transitive) to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously.
2. (intransitive) to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously.
  Quotations
  Her white night-dress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man's bare chest which was shown by his torn-open dress.
  1897, Bram Stoker, chapter 21, in Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library
  The period of intensive traffic is over by about 5.30 p.m. and for the rest of the evening steadily diminishes, the main activity being the Channel Islands boat trains which trickle in after about 6.30 p.m. and depart again for Weymouth an hour or so later.
  1962 April, J. N. Faulkner, “Summer Saturday at Waterloo”, in Modern Railways, page 265
3. (intransitive) To move or roll slowly.
  Quotations
  Their only shot of the first period was a long-range strike from top-scorer Ebanks-Blake which trickled tamely wide.
  2010 December 29, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC‎