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dip

/dɪp/noun, verb

dip is spelled D-I-P: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dip means “A lower section of a road or geological feature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dip is dips.

How many letters and syllables are in dip?

Letters3: D-I-P
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing11 times per million words; the 6,565th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is dip?

Dip appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce dip?

  • /dɪp/

Dip has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dip.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of dip

  • dips plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • dipping participle, present
  • dipped participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does dip mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A lower section of a road or geological feature.

    There is a dip in the road ahead.

  2. 2

    Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line; slope; pitch.

  3. 3

    The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid.

  4. 4

    A tank or trough where cattle or sheep are immersed in chemicals to kill parasites.

  5. 5

    A dip stick.

  6. 6

    A swim, usually a short swim to refresh.

    I’m going for a dip before breakfast.

  7. 7

    datedslangA pickpocket.

    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.

  8. 8

    A sauce for dipping.

    This onion dip is just scrumptious.

  9. 9

    informalA foolish person.

  10. 10

    informalA diplomat.

  11. 11

    informalA diaper; diap, dipe.

  12. 12

    Initialism of device-independent pixel.

verb

  1. 1

    To lower into a liquid.

    Dip your biscuit into your tea.

  2. 2

    To immerse oneself; to become plunged in a liquid; to sink.

  3. 3

    (of a value or rate) To decrease slightly.

  4. 4

    To lower a light's beam.

    Dip your lights as you meet an oncoming car.

  5. 5

    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.

    The sailor rushed to the flag hoist to dip the flag in return.

  6. 6

    To treat cattle or sheep by immersion in chemical solution.

    The farmer is going to dip the cattle today.

  7. 7

    To use a dip stick to check oil level in an engine.

  8. 8

    To consume snuff by placing a pinch behind the lip or under the tongue in order to absorb the desired chemical constituents.

    Near-synonym: pack a lip

noun

as DIP
  1. 1

    Acronym of dual in-line package.

  2. 2

    Acronym of dependency inversion principle.

  3. 3

    Acronym of defence investment plan, any of the periodic multiyear strategic plans for defence spending in the United Kingdom.

    It became clear that future defence investment plans would have to confront a riskier world.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Dip in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpendage (lower section of a road or geological feature), tremper, baigner, plonger (to lower into a liquid – see also dunk)
GermanSenke, Absenkung (lower section of a road or geological feature), Eintauchen, Eintunken, Einstippen (act of dipping), Ölmessstab (dip stick)
Spanishbadén, hundimiento (lower section of a road or geological feature), mojar, pringar, ensopar, sopear (to lower into a liquid – see also dunk)
Portuguesemergulhar, imergir (to lower into a liquid – see also dunk)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does dip come from?

From Middle English dippen, from Old English dyppan, from Proto-West Germanic *duppjan, from Proto-Germanic *dupjaną; see *daupijaną (“to dip”). Related to deep.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after dip