overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

dip.

A lower section of a road or geological feature.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/dɪp/
  1. A lower section of a road or geological feature.

    countable · uncountable
    There is a dip in the road ahead.
  2. Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line; slope; pitch.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A tank or trough where cattle or sheep are immersed in chemicals to kill parasites.

    countable · uncountable
  5. A dip stick.

    countable · uncountable
  6. A swim, usually a short swim to refresh.

    countable · uncountable
    I’m going for a dip before breakfast.
  7. A pickpocket.

    countable · dated · slang · uncountable
  8. A sauce for dipping.

    countable · uncountable
    This onion dip is just scrumptious.
  9. The angle from horizontal of a planar geologic surface, such as a fault line.

    countable · uncountable
  10. A dipped candle.

    archaic · countable · uncountable
  11. 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.

    countable · uncountable
  12. 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.

    countable · uncountable
  13. 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.

    countable · uncountable
  14. A sudden drop followed by a climb, usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting into an airhole.

    countable · uncountable
  15. Finely ground tobacco, consumed by placing a small amount between the lip and gum.

    uncountable
  16. The act of missing out on seeing a sought after bird.

    colloquial · countable · uncountable
  17. Fried bread.

    UK · dialectal · uncountable
  18. A financial asset in decline, seen as an investment opportunity.

    countable · informal · uncountable
    buy the dips
Where this word comes 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.

verb/dɪp/
  1. To lower into a liquid.

    transitive
    Dip your biscuit into your tea.
  2. To immerse oneself; to become plunged in a liquid; to sink.

    intransitive
  3. (of a value or rate) To decrease slightly.

    intransitive
  4. To lower a light's beam.

    transitive
    Dip your lights as you meet an oncoming car.
  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.

    transitive
    The sailor rushed to the flag hoist to dip the flag in return.
  6. To treat cattle or sheep by immersion in chemical solution.

    transitive
    The farmer is going to dip the cattle today.
  7. To use a dip stick to check oil level in an engine.

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

    He started dipping years ago.
  9. To immerse for baptism.

    transitive
  10. To wet, as if by immersing; to moisten.

    transitive
  11. To plunge or engage thoroughly in any affair.

    intransitive
  12. To take out, by dipping a dipper, ladle, or other receptacle, into a fluid and removing a part; often with out.

    transitive
    to dip water from a boiler; to dip out water
  13. To perform the action of plunging a dipper, ladle. etc. into a liquid or soft substance and removing a part.

    intransitive
  14. To engage as a pledge; to mortgage.

    transitive
  15. To perform (a bow or curtsey) by inclining the body.

    transitive
  16. To sink, drop, or slope downwards.

    intransitive
  17. To incline downward from the plane of the horizon.

    intransitive
    Strata of rock dip.
  18. To perform a dip dance move (often phrased with the leader as the subject noun and the follower as the subject noun being dipped)

    transitive
  19. 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.

    transitive
  20. To leave; to quit or abandon.

    colloquial · intransitive
    When the time came, he dipped.
    Twelve people worked on the project, but by the end, most of them had dipped on the real work.
  21. To miss out on seeing a sought after bird.

    colloquial
Where this word comes 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.

noun/dɪp/
  1. A foolish person.

    informal
Where this word comes from

Back-formation from dippy.

noun/dɪp/
  1. A diplomat.

    informal
  2. A diaper; diap, dipe.

    informal · uncommon
Where this word comes from

Shortenings.

noun/dɪp/
  1. Initialism of device-independent pixel.

    abbreviation · alt-of · initialism
FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

dip has 3 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

dip studiodip workshello, dip

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.