Library / English Dictionary

DRIP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: dripped    , dripping   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(architecture) a projection from a cornice or sill designed to protect the area below from rainwater (as over a window or doorway)

Synonyms:

drip; drip mold; drip mould

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("drip" is a kind of...):

projection (any structure that branches out from a central support)

Domain category:

architecture (the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "drip"):

dripstone; hoodmold; hoodmould (a protective drip that is made of stone)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The sound of a liquid falling drop by drop

Example:

the constant sound of dripping irritated him

Synonyms:

drip; dripping

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("drip" is a kind of...):

sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Flowing in drops; the formation and falling of drops of liquid

Example:

there's a drip through the roof

Synonyms:

dribble; drip; trickle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("drip" is a kind of...):

flow; flowing (the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "drip"):

intravenous drip (slow continuous drip introducing solutions intravenously (a drop at a time))

Derivation:

drip (let or cause to fall in drops)

drip (fall in drops)

drippy (leaking in drops)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Let or cause to fall in drops

Example:

dribble oil into the mixture

Synonyms:

dribble; drip; drop

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "drip" is one way to...):

pour (cause to run)

Verb group:

drip (fall in drops)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

The women drip water into the bowl

Derivation:

drip (flowing in drops; the formation and falling of drops of liquid)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fall in drops

Example:

Water is dripping from the faucet

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "drip" is one way to...):

come down; descend; fall; go down (move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way)

Verb group:

dribble; drip; drop (let or cause to fall in drops)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

drip (flowing in drops; the formation and falling of drops of liquid)

drippings (fat that exudes from meat and drips off while it is being roasted or fried)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Five minutes later the landscape was covered with fleeing boys, many of whom dripped blood upon the snow in token that White Fang's teeth had not been idle.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Yes, you are dripping like a mermaid; pull my cloak round you: but I think you are feverish, Jane: both your cheek and hand are burning hot.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I saw it drip with the fresh blood!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

At last he looked round, and saw that the cart was dripping, and the cask quite empty.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Scientists have solved the riddle behind one of the most recognisable, and annoying, household sounds: the dripping tap.

(What causes the sound of a dripping tap – and how do you stop it?, University of Cambridge)

Symptoms can include: • Sneezing, often with a runny or clogged nose • Coughing and postnasal drip • Itching eyes, nose and throat • Red and watery eyes • Dark circles under the eyes

(Hay Fever, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

It had been a great vessel of three masts but had lain so long exposed to the injuries of the weather that it was hung about with great webs of dripping seaweed, and on the deck of it shore bushes had taken root and now flourished thick with flowers.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Grant himself went out with an umbrella, there was nothing to be done but to be very much ashamed, and to get into the house as fast as possible; and to poor Miss Crawford, who had just been contemplating the dismal rain in a very desponding state of mind, sighing over the ruin of all her plan of exercise for that morning, and of every chance of seeing a single creature beyond themselves for the next twenty-four hours, the sound of a little bustle at the front door, and the sight of Miss Price dripping with wet in the vestibule, was delightful.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

As a stalagmite grows, it records the chemistry of the water that has percolated from the surface to the cave (ceiling) and which ultimately drips on to the stalagmite, says Elli Ronay, study researcher from the department of earth and environmental sciences, Vanderbilt University, US.

(Cave stalagmites reveal India’s rainfall secrets, SciDev.Net)

How vividly I call to mind the damp about the house, the green cracked flagstones in the court, an old leaky water-butt, and the discoloured trunks of some of the grim trees, which seemed to have dripped more in the rain than other trees, and to have blown less in the sun!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)