▪ I. dip, n.3 U.S. slang.
Brit. /dɪp/, U.S. /dɪp/
[Back-formation <dippy adj.]
A stupid, unremarkable, or contemptible person.
| 1932 Amer. Speech 7 401 Dip, a person who lacks good sense. 1939 B. Appel Power-house 330 You're dippy. Only a dip'd chase out to Slagtown. 1972 G. Lukas et al. Amer. Graffiti (film script) 10 He didn't dump on me you little dip. 1987 N. Spinrad Little Heroes (1989) 77 There were few distractions in Poughkeepsie. The girls were all airheads, and the boys were dips. 1999 S. Turow Personal Injuries 293, I just wish she wasn't such a dip. I mean, I like Betty. Not a mean bone in her body. |
▪ II. dip, v. (
dɪp)
Pa. tense and
pple. dipped,
dipt,
pr. pple. dipping. Forms: 1
dypp-an,
dipp-an, 2–6
dypp-e(n, 3–5
duppe(n (
y), 3–6
dippe, 6–
dip.
pa. tense 6
dypte,
dypped, 6–
dipped (
Sc. dippit), 7
dipp'd,
dip'd, 7–
dipt.
pa. pple. 1–6
dypped, (5
deppyd), 6–
dipped (
Sc. dippit), 7–
dipt.
[OE. dyppan weak v. (pa. tense dypte, pple. dypped:—OTeut. *dupjan, f. weak grade dup- of ablaut series *deup-, daup-, dup-, whence the adj. deep (:—*deup-oz). Cf. the cognate depe v.] I. Transitive senses.
1. To put down or let down temporarily or partially
in or
into a liquid, or the like, or the vessel containing it (usually with the notion of wetting, or of taking up a portion of the liquid, etc.); to immerse; to plunge (but with less implication of force and splashing, the sound of the word expressing a light though decided act).
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Mark xiv. 20 Se ðe his hand on disce mid me dypð. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 118 Nim þanne hnesce wulle and dupe on ele. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 8044 A vesselle dypped alle bidene In water, or in other lycour thyn. 1382 Wyclif Luke xvi. 24 Fadir Abraham..send Lazarus, that he dippe the last part of his fyngur in watir, and kele my tunge. 1535 Coverdale John xiii. 26 It is he vnto whom I dyppe the soppe & geue it. And he dypte in the soppe and gaue it vnto Iudas Iscarioth. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxvii. (1887) 104 The Germains..vsed then to dippe their new borne children into extreme cold water. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. vii. 143, I but dipt a knife in it. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxvi. 224 Clothed in a garment dipt in bloud. 1742 Pope Dunc. iv. 163 A Poet the first day he dips his quill. 1801 Med. Jrnl. XXI. 82 A piece of loaf bread, dipt in cold water. 1823 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. New Year's Coming of Age, He dipt his fist into the middle of the great custard. 1839 G. Bird Nat. Philos. 144 If a magnet be dipped in iron filings, it will attract, and cause them to adhere to its surface. |
| absol. 1607 Shakes. Timon iii. ii. 73 Who can call him his Friend, That dips in the same dish? 1878 Browning Poets Croisic 83 Up with quill, Dip and indite! |
| fig. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 67 For you dip somewhat the Pensill of your Tongue in the fresh and cleere coulour of the Tuscane tongue. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. vii. 19 The great loue the generall gender beare him, Who dipping all his Faults in their affection, Would..Conuert his Gyues to Graces. 1818 Shelley Rev. Islam ix. xii, By..the name Of thee, and many a tongue which thou hadst dipped in flame. |
2. To immerse in baptism; to baptize by immersion (now usually
contemptuous). In
quot. 1602
= christen v. 3. Also
absol.| c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. iii. 11 Ic eowic depu & dyppe in wættre in hreunisse. c 1200 Ormin 1551 Þurrh þatt tatt tu fullhtnesst hemm & unnderr waterr dippesst. c 1315 Shoreham 11 And wanne hi cristneth ine the founȝt The prestes so thries duppeth, In the honur of the Trinite. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) iii. 10 Þai make bot ane vnccioun, when þai cristen childer, ne dippes þaim but anes in þe fount. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Publ. Baptism Rubric, Then the Priest shall take the child..and..shall dip it in the water. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. i. Wks. 1856 I. 15 It pleas'd the font to dip me Rossaline. 1639 J. Saltmarsh Policy 73 These whom wee would have members of a Visible Church, we baptize and dip. 1766 Wesley Wks. (1872) III. 248 He and six-and-twenty more have been dipped! 1876 Bancroft Hist. U.S. II. xxx. 262 The confessions..began to be directed against the Anabaptists. Mary Osgood was dipped by the devil. |
3. In various technical processes: see also
dipping vbl. n. i.
spec. a. To immerse in a colouring solution; to dye, imbue. Also with the colouring matter as subject, or with the resulting colour as object. (
poetic)
| 1667 Milton P.L. v. 283 Six wings he [a Seraph] wore..the middle pair..round Skirted his loines and thighes with downie Gold And colours dipt in Heav'n. Ibid. xi. 244 Iris had dipt the wooff. 1712–4 Pope Rape Lock ii. 65 Thin glitt'ring textures of the filmy dew, Dipt in the richest tincture of the skies. 1780 Cowper Table T. 703 Fancy that from the bow that spans the sky Brings colours dipped in Heaven. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid v. 112 Raiment dipped in the purple. |
b. To make (a candle) by repeatedly dipping a wick in melted tallow.
| 1712 Act 10 Anne in Lond. Gaz. No. 5031/6 Before he begins to make or dip any Making or Course of Candles. c 1865 Letheby in Circ. Sc. I. 93/2 To dip a number of candles at the same time. |
c. to dip sheep: To bath them in a poisonous liquor for the purpose of killing the vermin and cleansing the skin.
| 1840 Jrnl. Roy. Agric. Soc. Ser. i. I. 324 A person who travels from farm to farm dipping sheep for the ticks. 1847 Trans. Highl. & Agric. Soc. Scot. Ser. iii. II. 300 Three men to dip and a boy to drive water, can easily bathe 600 to 800 sheep in a day. 1853 Catal. R. Agric. Soc. Show 1 Such is the importance..of dipping with this composition, that no extensive flock-master ought to be without it. |
4. a. To suffuse with moisture; to impregnate by, or as if by, immersion.
| 1634 Milton Comus 802 A cold shuddering dew Dips me all o'er. 1678 Dryden All for Love ii. i, These poison'd Gifts..Miriads of bluest Plagues lie underneath 'em, And more than Aconite has dipt the Silk. |
† b. fig. Applied to the use of the liquor in which a toast is drunk.
Obs.| a 1657 R. Loveday Lett. (1663) 36 We dip'd some choice healths..in the best Laurentian Liquor. Ibid. 95 Diping your health in the noblest liquor. |
c. To penetrate, as by dipping; to dip into.
rare.
| 1842 Tennyson Morte d'Arthur 143 But ere he dipt the surface, rose an arm..And caught him [i.e. Excalibur the sword] by the hilt. |
5. a. To obtain or take
up by dipping; to lift out of a body of liquid, etc.: usually with
up.
to dip snuff (
South. U.S.): to take snuff by dipping a split or brush-like stick or bit of rattan into it and rubbing it upon the teeth and gums. Also
absol.| 1602 Carew Cornwall 30 b, The shrimps are dipped up in shallow water by the shore side, with little round nets. 1824 Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 45 There she stands at the spring, dipping up water for to-morrow. 1848–60 Bartlett Dict. Amer., To dip snuff, a mode of taking tobacco. 1849 Knickerbocker XXXIV. 117 The ‘gude woman’ sat in the corner ‘rubbing snuff’, or ‘dipping’. 1861 L. L. Noble Icebergs 272 Fresh water may be dipped in winter, from small open spaces in the bay. 1864 J. T. Trowbridge Cudjo's Cave xxxiv. 332 For this excellent woman snuffed, ‘dipped’ and smoked. 1886 Century Mag. Feb. 586 Sam Upchurch smoked his pipe, and Peggy dipped snuff, but Dyer declined joining them in using tobacco. 1913 M. W. Morley Carolina Mts. 169 Nor is snuff taken after the manner of former generations of snuff-takers. Here the people ‘dip’. |
b. intr. or absol. To pick pockets. Also
trans. slang.| [1817 Sporting Mag. (Farmer), I have dipped into 150..pockets and not found a shilling.] 1857 ‘Ducange Anglicus’ Vulgar T. 6 Dip, to pick pockets. 1925 Brit. Weekly 12 Mar. 573/2 If you don't want to get ‘dipped’ [i.e., have your pocket picked], buy..small nuts and put them in your pocket with your cash. There isn't one of the boys can dip you then. 1929 Detective Fiction Weekly 2 Mar. 696/1 The first fourteen years I dipped I got grabbed eleven times. 1930 E. Wallace White Face vii. 89 You went over and you dipped him for his clock and pack. 1967 Listener 14 Sept. 325/3 Somebody is..going to dip his back pocket. |
6. transf. a. To lower or let down for an instant, as if dipping in a liquid;
spec. to lower and then raise (a flag) as a naval salute, or (a sail) in tacking.
| 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 43/2 He dipt his seal on the cushion [ink-pad], and sealed the bond. 1859 Reade Love me little II. iv. 174 ‘They have not got to dip their sail, as we have, every time we tack’..‘I and the boy will dip the lug’..Now this operation is always a nice one, particularly in these small luggers, where the lug has to be dipped, that is to say, lowered and raised again on the opposite side of the mast. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 148 The men who dip the sail should stand on the lee side. 1894 C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 179 To-day, ‘dipping the flag’ is an act of courtesy; men-of-war do not do it to one another, but if merchant ships ‘dip’ their ensigns to them they reply in a similar manner. |
b. To cause to sink; to lower, depress.
| 1879 Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 418 Duty or social good..Would dip the scale. |
c. Forestry. (See
quot.)
| 1877 T. Kelly in N.Z. Country Jrnl. I. 244 On the side the tree will most easily fall [the experienced bushman] dips it—that is, he cuts in a deep notch from the circumference towards the centre. |
d. To lower (the beams of the headlights of a vehicle). Also
absol.| 1909 Kipling Actions & Reactions 117 ‘No. 162’ lifts to a long-drawn wail of a breeze..and we make Valencia..at a safe 7000 feet, dipping our beam to an incoming Washington packet. 1922 Motor 31 Oct. Suppl. p. xxxiv (Advt.), The A-L Anti-Dazzle Focus Headlight Attachment... No ‘dipping’. No ‘dimming’. 1928 ‘Motor’ Manual (ed. 27) xi. 152 The type of headlamp which is so arranged that the beam can be dipped, swivelled, or both, at the will of the driver. 1936 Discovery Oct. 302/1 One effect of this beneficent discovery will be to render unnecessary the regulations for dipping and extinguishing headlights. 1959 ‘Motor’ Manual (ed. 36) viii. 218 Do not engage in headlight battles. Always dip when another vehicle approaches. 1965 Priestley & Wisdom Good Driving ii. 20 A dipper switch..enables you to dip the beam. 1969 G. Black Cold Jungle x. 142 Headlights came at us. Rob dipped. |
7. fig. a. To immerse, involve, implicate (
in any affair,
esp. of an undesirable kind). Chiefly in
pass. (
Cf. deep a. 19.)
Obs. exc. as in b.
| a 1627 Middleton Changeling iii. iv, A woman dipp'd in blood, and talk of modesty! 1671–3 Sir C. Lyttelton in Hatton Corr. (1878) 74 S{supr} Steph. Fox is dipt 70,000li deepe in that concerne. 1678 Dryden Kind Keeper Prol., True Wit has seen its best Days long ago, It ne'er look'd up, since we were dipt in Show. 1700 ― Fables Pref. (Globe) 500 He was a little dipped in the rebellion of the Commons. 1775 Burke Corr. (1844) II. 50 Then we shall be thoroughly dipped, and then there will be no way of getting out, but by disgracing England, or enslaving America. 1789 Mrs. Piozzi Journ. France I. 139 He was a man deeply dipped in judicial astrology. 1798 H. Walpole Lett. (1857) I. Remin. iii. p. cix, Having been deeply dipped in the iniquities of the South Sea. |
b. To involve in debt or pecuniary liabilities; to mortgage (an estate); to pawn. (
colloq.)
| 1640 H. Glapthorne Wit in Constable v, If you scorne to borrow, you may dip Your chaine. 1693 Dryden Persius vi. 160 Never dip thy Lands. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v. Layd-up..Cloaths..are pawn'd or dipt for..Money. 1817 M. Edgeworth Tales & Novels (Rtldg.) IX. xii. 116 My little Jessica has..played away at a rare rate with my ready money—dipped me confoundedly. 1880 M. E. Braddon Just as I am ii, Nobody had ever been able to say that the Courtenay estate was ‘dipped’. 1883 ― Phantom Fortune xxxv. (1884) 299 The young lady was slightly dipped. |
II. Intransitive senses (some for
refl.; others
absol. uses).
8. To plunge down a little into water or other liquid and quickly emerge. Const.
in,
into,
under.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 119 A lantern wiþ lyȝt fleteþ and swymmeth aboue, and ȝif þe liȝt is iqueynt, it duppeþ doun and dryncheþ. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. iv. 66, I was fain to dip for it into the water. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk., Voyage (1887) 24 Her yards would dip into the water; her bow was almost buried beneath the waves. 1843 Macaulay Lays Anc. Rome, Horat. vii, Unharmed the water-fowl may dip In the Volsinian mere. 1865 Swinburne Atalanta 16 Oars Break, and the beaks dip under, drinking death. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan i. i. 239 Slowly the muffled oars dip in the tide. |
9. a. To plunge one's hand (or a ladle or the like) into water, etc., or into a vessel,
esp. for the purpose of taking something out.
b. slang. To pick pockets.
c. to dip (deeply, etc.) into one's purse,
means, etc.: (
fig.) to withdraw or expend a considerable sum, to trench upon means.
| 1697 Dryden Persius ii. 38 Suppose I dipp'd among the worst and Staius chose. 1817 Sporting Mag. (Farmer), I have dipped into 150..pockets and not found a shilling. a 1847 Mrs. Sherwood Lady of Manor I. viii. 334 In early life he had dipped so deeply into his property as obliged him to leave the country. 1884 Chr. World 19 June 453/2 As new schools are built, Mr. Mundella must dip more deeply into the national purse. |
10. To fish by letting the bait dip and bob lightly on the water;
= dap v. 1,
dib v.
2 3,
dibble v.
2 2.
| 1799 G. Smith Laboratory II. 272 The few which you may..take, by dipping or dapping, will scarcely be eatable. 1875 [see dipping vbl. n.]. |
11. transf. a. To sink or drop down through a small space, or below a particular level, as if dipping into water; to go down, sink, set.
| a 1375 Joseph Arim. 534 He mette a gome on an hors..He hente vp his hachet and huttes him euene..Wiþ þe deþ in his hals downward he duppes. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 312 Use the North Starre of the Ancients, till..that Guide dippeth under the Horizon. 1720 Lett. fr. Lond. Jrnl. (1721) 58 Before he had told it all, the Sun dipt in. 1781 Cowper Hope 374 Suppose the beam should dip on the wrong side. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. 111, The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. iv. (1856) 31 During the bright twilight interval he [the sun] will dip but a few degrees below the horizon. 1884 Black Jud. Shaks. ix, The swallows dipping and darting under the boughs. |
b. To move the body downwards in obeisance; to drop a curtsy; to ‘bob’.
| 1817 Byron Beppo lxv, To some she curtsies, and to some she dips. |
c. To extend a little way downwards or below a surface (without motion); to sink.
| 1854 Ronalds & Richardson Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 292 The short pipes v are consequently allowed to project about that much above the level of the plate, while their lower extremities dip into shallow cups which remain filled with liquid. 1878 L. P. Meredith Teeth 68 Superficial decay [of the tooth] is confined to the enamel covering, or dips but slightly into the dentine. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid iii. 536 Two turreted precipice blocks Dip, like walls, to the wave. |
12. To have a downward inclination; to incline or slope downwards; to be inclined to the horizon:
spec. of the magnetic needle, and in
Geol. of strata (see
dip n. 4, 5).
| 1665 Hooke Microgr. 172 The plain of it lies almost horizontal, but onely the forepart does dip a little, or is somewhat more deprest. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Dipping-needle, A magnetical needle so hung as that..one end dips, or inclines to the horizon. 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict. G iij, Dipp is when the Flat-Beds lies not Levell, but declines some way, and it is by them that we know when the Rock Dipps, unless we be on the Top of it. 1796 Withering Brit. Plants IV. 251 [Fungi]..Pileus convex..edge dipping down, 1½to 2 inches over. 1806 Gazetteer Scotl. (ed. 2) 70 The strata are in some instances perpendicular to the horizon, and in all dip very much. 1820 Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 539 In this hemisphere, the north end of the needle dips, but the contrary in the southern hemisphere, where the south end of the needle dips. 1879 E. Garrett House by Works I. 140 You have no idea how the road dips. |
13. To go (more or less) deeply into a subject.
| 1755 Young Centaur ii. Wks. 1757 IV. 134 But I shall not dip so deep in its consequences. 1842 Tennyson Locksley Hall 15 Here about the beach I wander'd..When I dipt into the future far as human eye could see. |
14. to dip into (a book, a subject of study): to enter slightly and briefly into a subject, without becoming absorbed or ‘buried’ in it; said especially of reading short passages here and there in a book, without continuous perusal.
(
Cf. skim, to read superficially and slightly but continuously.)
| 1682 Dryden Relig. Laici Pref. (Globe) 191 They cannot dip into the Bible, but one text or another will turn up for their purpose. 1686 Goad Celest. Bodies ii. i. 123 You cannot dip into a Diary but you will find it. 1760 Gray Lett. Wks. 1884 III. 24, I have not attentively read him, but only dipp'd here and there. 1777 W. Dalrymple Trav. Sp. & Port. Pref. 4, I have endeavoured to dip a little into the state of government. 1794 Sullivan View Nat. II, Might not Moses have dipped..in the same source with the authors of the Shaasta? 1877 A. B. Edwards Up Nile iv. 96 We have of course been dipping into Herodotus. |
Add:
[II.] [12.] b. Of share prices, profits, etc.: to fall in value or size,
esp. slightly.
| 1956 Time 1 Oct. 78/2 Consumer prices dipped .02{pcnt} last month. 1981 Times 4 Apr. 19/2 (headline) Sterling dips by 2½ cents. 1984 Broadcast 7 Dec. 31/1 This week's figures..show..its audience share dipping to just under 41{pcnt}. |
▪ III. dip, n. (
dɪp)
[f. dip v.] 1. a. An act of dipping; a plunge or brief immersion in water or other liquid; a bathe; also
transf. and
fig.: see various senses of the verb.
| 1599 Marston Sco. Villanie i. iv. 189 For ingrain'd Habits, died with often dips, Art not so soone discoloured. 1686 Goad Celest. Bodies 1 xvi. 101 The Celerity of a Boat is continued by a successive dip of the Oar. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Candle, A trough to catch the droppings, as the Candles are taken out each dip. 1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xix. 122, I should advise you to take another dip. 1796 H. Glasse Cookery xiv. 248 Have ready..a pan of clean cold water, just give your pudding one dip in. 1843 James Forest Days ii, ‘I'll give him a dip in the horse pond’. 1871 J. Miller Songs Italy (1878) 14 There was only the sound of the long oars' dip, As the low moon sailed up the sea. 1874 L. Stephen Hours in Library (1892) II. ii. 51 He rode sixty miles from his house to have a dip in the sea. 1879 J. J. Young Ceram. Art 81 Stone-ware is very seldom glazed by a ‘dip’. |
b. a dip in or
dip into (a book): see
dip v. 14.
| 1760 Foote Minor i. (1767) 25 Come, shall we have a dip in the history of the Four Kings this morning? 1838 J. Grant Sk. Lond. 373 A half-hour's ‘dip’ into some circulating-library book. |
c. The act of dipping up liquid,
e.g. ink with the pen; the quantity taken up at one act of dipping.
| 1841 S. Warren 10,000 a year III. 10 He took his pen in his right hand with a fresh dip of ink in it. 1889 Durham Univ. Jrnl. 196 The same ‘dip of ink’ is always ready. |
d. A curtsy, a ‘bob’:
cf. dip v. 11 b.
| 1792 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ode to Burke Wks. 1812 III. 38 Then the Dame will answer with a dip. 1808 ― Ep. to Mrs. Clarke ibid. V. 392 The nods of Monarchs and the dips of Queens. |
e. A going down out of sight or below the horizon.
| 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 244 Ev'n to the last dip of the vanishing sail She watch'd it. |
f. Naut. The position of being dipped or lowered (of a sail: see
dip v. 6): in
phr. at the dip.
| 1886 J. M. Caulfeild Seamanship Notes 6 The church pendant is used at the dip at the mizen truck while working cables. 1893 Markham in Daily News 3 July 5/6, I directed my flag lieutenant to keep the signal..at the dip. |
g. Pros. An unstressed element in a line of alliterative verse. (G.
senkung.)
Cf. lift n.2| 1894 H. Sweet Anglo-Saxon Reader (ed. 7) p. lxxxviii, Each verse usually consists of four metrical elements, two lifts and two dips—that is, two strong- and two weak-stress elements. 1961 Rev. Eng. Stud. XII. 346 A metrical interpretation which..sets up metrical units (‘lifts’ and ‘dips’) which are defined in terms of stress relationships. Ibid. 347 Sequences of two unstressed syllables are counted as two ‘dips’, not one, if the two syllables belong to separate ‘breath-groups’. |
h. A receptacle from which a prize may be obtained by dipping; also
fig.;
lucky dip = lucky-bag 1, or
bran-tub.
| 1915 ‘Bartimeus’ Tall Ship vii. 129 Pennies..to be extracted at great personal risk from an electric dip. 1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 20 Here one could for a small sum put one's hand into the..lucky dive (dip) and draw out a prize. 1933 J. Thorpe Happy Days i. 28 Most of the sweet-shops at that time had ‘lucky-dips’. 1934 [see Blighty, blighty n. c]. 1956 ‘J. Wyndham’ Seeds of Time 25 A sort of rigid, lucky-dip, take-it-or-leave-it system. 1967 P. Moyes Murder Fantastical xv. 219 Everything for the Lucky Dip is wrapped because of the bran. |
2. Depth or amount of submergence (
e.g. of a paddle-wheel) or depression; depth or distance below a particular level; depth of a vessel, etc.
| 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §97 That ruler would mark upon the upright rod, the dip of the point on which it stood, below the level of the instrument. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Dip, the depth of submergence of the float of a paddlewheel. 1880 Act 43–4 Vict. c. 24 §17 Any attempt..to deceive him in taking the dip or gauge of any vessel. |
3. Astron. and
Surveying. The angular distance of the visible horizon below the horizontal plane through the observer's eye; the apparent depression of the horizon due to the observer's elevation, which has to be allowed for in taking the altitude of a heavenly body.
| 1774 M. Mackenzie Maritime Surv. i. 18 A Table of the Depression, or Dip, of the Horizon of the Sea. 1820 Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 444 The dip of the sea..at 20 feet height of the eye, the error would be 56 miles. 1828 J. H. Moore Pract. Navig. (ed. 20) 154 The dip to be subtracted in the fore observation, and to be added in the back observation. 1875 Bedford Sailor's Pocket-bk. v. (ed. 2) 181 Measure angle..from maintop; add dip for that height. |
4. The downward inclination of the magnetic needle at any particular place; the angle which the direction of the needle makes with the horizon.
| 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Dipping-needle, The dip..in the year 1576 he found at London to be 71° 50{p}. But the dip varies. 1820 Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 545 The intensity of the magnetic force was the greatest where the dip was the greatest. 1832 Nat. Philos., Magnetism iii. §98. 24 (Useful Knowl. Soc.) The dip diminishes as we approach the equator, and increases as we recede from it on either side. c 1865 J. Wylde in Circ. Sc. I. 245/2 At the present time, the dip for London is about 67°. |
5. a. Downward slope of a surface;
esp. in
Mining and
Geol. the downward slope of a stratum or vein: estimated, as to direction, by the point of the compass towards which the line of greatest slope tends, and as to magnitude, by its angle of inclination to the horizon.
| 1708 J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 40 There is a Rise, or Ascent, for a Colliery under Ground, and so by Consequence the Contrary Way a Dip or Setling. 1747 W. Hooson Miner's Dict. G iij, The natural Dipp of a Vein is when it runs it self more down into the Rock. 1789 Brand Hist. Newcastle II. 679 The strata..have an inclination or descent, called the dip, to some particular part of the horizon. 1832 H. T. De la Beche Geol. Man. (ed. 2) 545 The direction of faults and mineral veins, and the dip of strata, are daily becoming of greater importance. 1877 A. H. Green Phys. Geol. 343 The line of dip is the line of greatest inclination that can be drawn on the surface of a bed. 1891 S. C. Scrivener Fields & Cities 10 The very sudden lowering of the water-line in the river just around the gap, and the dip of the water quickly and more quickly approaching the gap. |
b. Mining. Short for
dip-head (see 11).
| 1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 69/1 The drawing roads for the coal may be of three different kinds,—(1) levels driven at right angles to the dip,..(2) rise ways, known as jinny roads, jig-brows, or up-brows,..(3) dip or down-brows, requiring engine power. 1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Coal-M., Dip.., a heading or other underground way driven to the deep... It is usual to drive a pair of dips about 10 yards apart every 180 yards or so. 1967 Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) viii. 11 Dip, an underground roadway driven downhill, usually following the inclination of the strata. |
6. A hollow or depression to which the surrounding high ground dips or sinks.
| 1789 W. Gilpin Wye 129 Woody hills which form beautiful dips at their intersections. 1834 Beckford Italy I. 175 We saw groves and villages in the dips of the hills. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola ii. viii, The great dip of ground..making a gulf between her and the sombre calm of the mountains. 1878 H. M. Stanley Dark Cont. I. xvi. 434 The main column arrived at the centre of the dip in the Uzimba ridge. |
7. (Short for
dip-candle.) A candle made by repeatedly dipping a wick into melted tallow.
| 1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 15 Paper..brown sugar to fold, Tea, soap..dip or choice mould. 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay viii. A purser's dip—vulgo, a farthing candle. c 1865 Letheby in Circ. Sc. I 93/2 Two sorts of candles are commonly met with in commerce—namely dips and moulds. 1887 Stevenson Underwoods i. xxx. 63, I am a kind of farthing dip Unfriendly to the nose and eyes. |
8. a. A preparation into which something is dipped, as
bronzing-dip,
sheep-dip, etc. (
cf. dip v. 3). Also, a vat or tank in which sheep-dip is used. So
dip yard.
| 1871 Trans. Highl. & Agric. Soc. Scot. Ser. iv. III. 269 Any other dips I have seen. 1877 N.W. Linc. Gloss., Dip, a poisonous liquid in which sheep are dipped to kill fags. 1878 E. S. Elwell Boy Colonists 103 A large dip was built there. 1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts Ser. ii. 244 The bronzing dip may be prepared by dissolving in 1 gal. hot water ½ lb. each perchloride of iron and perchloride of copper. 1885 Daily News 15 Feb. 5/6 Before the arrival of the last convoy there the carbolic acid was exhausted. Sheep dip had to be substituted. 1900 S. E. Blacke Flights from Land of Bellbird i. 16 Then there were visits to the ‘dip’ beyond, where the sheep were washed. 1922 W. Perry Sheep Farming in N.Z. iii. 20 It is wise to build a dip. 1933 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch) 2 Dec. 15/7 Yards for dipping [sheep]..are generally called dip yards. |
b. A grade of turpentine. (See quot 1884, and
cf. dipping vbl. n. 2 b.)
| 1856, 1884 [see virgin-dip s.v. virgin a. 18 b]. 1862 ‘E. Kirke’ Among Pines 167 I've four barr'ls of ‘dip’ and tu of ‘hard’. 1896 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 473 The dip or crude turpentine is emptied. |
9. a. A sweet sauce for puddings, etc. Also, any sauce or dressing;
spec. the fat and juice left in the pan after meat has been cooked. (
local Eng. and
U.S.)
| a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Dip, a sauce for dumplings, composed of melted butter, vinegar, and brown sugar. 1846 Worcester, Dip,..sauce made of fat pork for fish. U.S. 1884 Cheshire Gloss., Dip, sweet sauce eaten with pudding. If flavoured with brandy it is called Brandy-dip. 1894 T. F. Robley Hist. Bourbon Co., Kansas 26 Some ‘rashers’ are cut from the ‘flitch’ of bacon and the grease tried out; eggs are fried, and ‘dip’ is made. 1931 ‘N. Bell’ Life & Andrew Otway viii. 345 ‘Lots of eggs..and loads of what cook used to call dip.’.. ‘I shall eat the dip..with a piece of bread. You know, rub it round the plate.’ 1960 Spectator 10 June 848 Jam-butties one day and bread and dip the next. |
b. pl. Dough-boys.
Austral. colloq.| 1859 D. Bunce Trav. with Leichhardt 161 Dr. Leichhardt gave the party a quantity of dough-boys, or, as we called them, dips. Ibid. 171 Dr. Leichhardt ordered the cook to mix up a lot of flour, and treated us all to a feed of dips. |
c. A savoury mixture into which biscuits, etc., are dipped.
| 1960 J. Kirkwood There must be a Pony! (1961) viii. 61 We were up to our necks in dips: clam dip, cheese dip, mushroom dip. 1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File xxi. 143, I was loaded with anchovy, cheese dip, hard egg and salmon. 1962 Woman's Own 1 Dec. 49/2 Have a trolley of savouries and ‘dips’ ready to wheel in. Ibid. 50/2 Use as a dip with crisps or savoury biscuits. |
10. Thieves' slang. A pickpocket; also pocket-picking. (
Cf. dip v. 9 b.)
| 1859 in Matsell Vocab. 26 (Farmer). 1888 St. Louis Globe Democrat (Farmer Amer.), A dip touched the Canadian sheriff for his watch and massive chain while he was reading the Riot Act. 1926 J. Black You can't Win iv. 35 No Missouri dip would take his roll, extract two fifty-dollar bills, and put the rest back in his pocket. 1936 J. Curtis Gilt Kid xxix. 279 ‘Ginger King,’ he said, ‘I'm going to nick you for a dip.’ 1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad i. 13 They have rich, picturesque names, such as..‘Jimmy the Dip’. 1970 Daily Tel. 29 Apr. 4/6 New Yorkers who have had their pockets picked or handbags rifled on the city's Underground in recent years learned yesterday that the person responsible was probably a professional ‘dip’. |
11. a. Comb. [In some cases it is the verb-stem rather than the
n.]:
dip-bucket, a bucket contrived to turn easily and dip into water;
dip-candle, a candle made by repeatedly dipping a wick in melted tallow, a dipped candle;
dip-circle, a dipping-needle having a vertical graduated circle for measuring the amount of the dip;
dip compass = dipping compass (see
dipping-needle);
dip equator, the magnetic equator (see
equator 3 b);
dip-head, a heading driven to the dip in a coal-mine in which the beds have a steep inclination; whence
dip-head level;
dip-needle = dipping-needle;
dip-net, a small net with a long handle, used to catch fish by dipping it in the water;
dip pen, one that has to be dipped in the ink (
opp. fountain-pen);
dip-pipe, a valve in the hydraulic main of gas works, etc., arranged to dip into water or tar, or other liquid, and form a seal; a seal-pipe;
dip regulator (see
quot.);
dip-rod, (
a) a rod on which candle-wicks are hung to be dipped; (
b)
= dipstick;
dip-roller, a form of roller used in printing-works for taking up ink;
dip-section, a section showing the dip of the strata;
dip-sector, a reflecting instrument on the principle of the sextant, used to ascertain the dip of the horizon: see
sector;
dip-side, the side on which the dip or declivity is;
dip-splint, a kind of friction match;
dip-stick,
dipstick, a rod for measuring the depth of liquid;
dip-switch,
dipswitch, a switch that dips the beams of a vehicle's headlights;
dip-trap, a drain trap formed by a dip or depression of the pipe in which water stands so as to prevent the upward passage of sewer-gas;
dip-well, a well whence water is got by dipping.
| 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay ii, On it stood a brass candle⁓stick, with a *dip-candle. 1864 Thackeray D. Duval vii. (1869) 96 The apprentice..came up..from the cellar with a string of dip-candles. |
| 1876 Davis Polaris Exp. ix. 218 One of the snow houses was designed for the *dip-circle. 1881 Maxwell Electr. & Magn. II. 116 A new dip-circle, in which the axis of the needle..is slung on two filaments of silk or spider's thread, the ends of the filaments being attached to the arms of a delicate balance. |
| 1897 Strand Mag. Mar. 344/2 Its [sc. the Pole's] variable position was approximately determined by Sir James Clark Ross by help of the *dip compass. |
| 1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 164/2 The line of no dip is called the magnetic or *dip equator. |
| 1875 Ure Dict. Arts III. 326 Were the coal-field an entire elliptical basin, the *dip-head levels carried from any point would be elliptical. Ibid. III. 328 It is, moreover, proper to make the first set of pillars next the dip-head much stronger. |
| 1881 Maxwell Electr. & Magn. II. 113 The magnetic dip is found by means of the *Dip Needle. |
| 1858 Thoreau Lett. (1865) 171 The villagers catching smelts with *dip-nets in the twilight. |
| 1945 B. MacDonald Egg & I (1947) viii. 96 An ink bottle and a *dip pen. 1949 ‘N. Blake’ Head of Traveller xi. 172 ‘What are you looking for?’..‘My dip pen.’ ‘Stylo run out?’ |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 705 The seal-cup is charged with tar, which permits the movable *dip-pipe to be lifted into or out of the main. |
| a 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., *Dip regulator, a device used in gas works for regulating the seal of the dip-pipes in the hydraulic main, and for drawing off the heavy tar from the bottom of the main without disturbing the seal. |
| 1923 Man. Seamanship ii. 201 Care should be taken that the correct amount of oil is in the oil pump at the bottom of the base chamber; an oil cock or *dip rod is fitted for this purpose. 1934 Times 13 Feb. 10/4 The diprod, coil, Lockheed fluid tank on the dash..are all handy. |
| a 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., *Dip-roller (Printing), a roller to dip ink from the fountain. |
| 1884 Nature 13 Nov. 33 It is admirably seen in *dip-section on the east and north slopes. |
| 1833 Herschel Astron. i. 16 The visible area, as measured by the *dip-sector. 1834 Mechanic's Mag. 445. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. ix. (1856) 67 Minute observations of dip-sectors and repeating-circles. |
| 1875 Ure Dict. Arts III. 325 Have on the *dip side of the level a small quantity of water..so as to guide the workmen in driving the level. 1892 Northumbld. Gloss., Dip-side, the low side. |
| 1927 Observer 4 Dec. 11/4 The near side of the engine [of a new Ford motor vehicle] carries the self-starter and the oil-filler and a *dip-stick gauge only, and has almost a European appearance. 1953 Word for Word (Whitbread & Co.) 18/1 Dipstick, an instrument used to measure the quantity of wort in the fermenting squares prior to fermentation. 1970 Motoring Which? July 92/1 Apart from the awkward dipstick of the 18/85, day-to-day servicing was easy on all three cars. |
| 1952 San Francisco Chron. 15 June 13L, American: dimmer switch. British: *dip switch. 1962 Times 13 Feb. 3/4 The floor buttons for dipswitch and screen-washers are too small. 1967 E. Rudinger Consumer's Car Glossary (ed. 2) 33 Dipswitch, foot-operated button or hand-operated lever with which the driver changes the headlamps from the main beam to the dipped beam. |
| 1883 E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene x. §2. 367 The common mason's or *dip-trap, and the notorious D trap. |
| 1894 B. Fowler in Proc. Geol. Assoc. XIII. 364 This clay throws out two fine springs, forming *dip-wells, in Hammer village. |
b. In various
attrib. uses of sense 5.
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 964 Where the coal-measures are horizontal, and the faults run at a greater angle than 45° to the line of bearing, they are termed dip and rise faults. Ibid. 968 The true dip-line of the plane which leads to the outcrop. Ibid. 974 On the dip side of the gallery. Ibid. 992 The subterraneous fire broke forth with two heavy discharges from the dip-pit. Ibid. 994 In the dip-mine a double tram-road is laid. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 63/2 Galleries driven at right angles to these [sc. the dip head level and lodgment level] are known as ‘dip’ or ‘rise headings’, according to their position above or below the pit bottom. 1879 Ibid. X. 297/1 A quarry is usually worked to the dip of a rock, hence the strike-joints form clean-cut faces in front of the workmen as they advance. These are known as ‘backs’, and the dip-joints which traverse them as ‘cutters’. Ibid. 303/1 Dip-faults will often be observed to deviate considerably from the normal direction of dip. 1882 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. 502 In general they [sc. joints of stratified rocks] have two dominant trends, one coincident, on the whole, with the direction in which the strata are inclined from the horizon, and the other running transversely at a right angle or nearly so. The former set is known as dip-joints, because they run with the dip or inclination of the rocks. 1887 P. M{supc}Neill Blawearie 24 The firm..had turned their whole force of men into the dip-workings, in order to exhaust the coal bordering on the march. 1900 Geogr. Jrnl. XV. 220 Its [sc. the Arun's] course was determined by the original dip-slope of the Wealden dome. 1957 Encycl. Brit. IX. 119/1 The dip-slip is the component of the net-slip measured directly down the dip of the fault plane. 1960 L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct. (ed. 5) v. 45 Valleys parallel to the dip of the rocks (dip valleys). 1961 J. Challinor Dict. Geol. 61/2 Dip-slope, a slope of the ground which is determined..by the dip of the beds. It is applied particularly to such a slope which ends upwards along the top of an escarpment and which is then opposed to the, usually steeper, scarp slope on the other side. 1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. xviii. 309/2 The amount of dip coal is difficult to estimate and it was suggested that ‘the amount of workable dip coal is likely to be somewhat greater than the rise coal’. 1967 Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) viii. 11 Dip face, a coal face advancing downhill. Ibid., Dip workings, workings lying to the dip of any designated point in a seam. |
Senses 1 g, h in
Dict. become 1 h, i. Add:
[1.] g. A decline in the value or magnitude of share prices, profits, etc.;
esp. a slight fall.
| 1892 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 1 Oct. 11/5 There was a disposition among a few houses to buy for a reaction after an early dip to-day. 1929 Daily Express 7 Nov. 1/4 Traders were ignorant in many instances of what the prevailing prices were, because of the rapid dips downward. 1958 Economist 6 Dec. 866/2 The white paper pins its hopes to the ‘dip’ years in the early sixties, when the present bulge has passed, and before numbers begin to rise again. 1986 Daily Tel. 28 Feb. 19 (heading) Booming market unruffled by ICI {pstlg}122m profit dip. |
▸
N. Amer. colloq. (
orig. U.S. regional). A dose of a powdered or cut tobacco preparation taken orally. In later use also (as a mass noun): tobacco in this form.
Originally referring to a dry form of powdered tobacco (
cf. to dip snuff at
dip v. 5a), but now typically denoting a moistened preparation taken by placing a dose between the upper or lower lip and gum.
| 1853 Putnam's Mag. 1 142 She..will hear ladies inviting ladies to ‘come over and take a dip’. 1921 Atlanta Constit. 3 Feb. 3/6 Alice..refused yesterday to give a ‘dip’ of snuff to Lilly May. 1966 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 79 594 In the Ozarks, ‘dip’ sometimes means not merely the powdered tobacco but a mixture of snuff and molasses. 1988 Sunday Oregonian (Nexis) 28 Aug. f15 He began using ‘dip’ or ‘snuff’, a form of smokeless tobacco that users tuck between their cheek and gum... ‘I put a dip in my mouth, and five minutes later I started having cold sweats.’ 2003 D. Lipsky Absolutely Amer. i. 5 Forty minutes with a mouthful of dip, and something told him not to spit. |
▸
N. Amer. A portion of ice cream formed with a scoop; a scoop of ice cream.
Cf. double dip n. 1.
| 1913 Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times (Electronic text) 11 June A generous dip of vanilla ice cream..topped with a luscious cherry makes our..10¢ Nabisco Sundae. 1947 Los Angeles Times 17 Mar. i. 6/2 Drop down to the corner drugstore for a chocolate malted with two dips of ice cream. 1982 J. S. Coleman Asymmetric Society i. 4 [He] asked for a vanilla ice cream cone with two dips. 2006 Nation's Restaurant News 24 July 16/3 It's..hard to order just one dip of ice cream in a restaurant, and that second scoop has another 300 calories. |
▸
orig. U.S. A strength-training exercise performed while grasping parallel bars or a similar apparatus with the body raised off the ground in vertical position and the arms extending downwards, in which the arms are bent to lower the body slightly, and then straightened to push back to the original position.
| 1945 Monogr. Soc. for Res. in Child Devel. 10 12 Events which use the same flexor or extensor muscles of the arms, as in Dips on the Parallel Bars. 1980 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 5 Jan. The program..includes pushups, situps, dips, chest-raises. 2002 Guardian 2 Nov. (Weekend Suppl.) 55/1 He trains for two and a half hours a day—pull-ups, dips, crunches, martial arts, swordplay. |
▸
dipstick n. (a) slang (
orig. U.S.), a stupid or contemptible person (
cf. dipshit n.);
(b) slang the penis.
| 1968 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) 2 iv. 4 Boy! That guy's a class A dipstick. 1980 Maledicta 4 191, I overheard in a cinema once the cry ‘Keep your lipstick off my dipstick!’ 1981 J. Sullivan Only Fools & Horses (1999) I. 1st Ser. Episode 1. 13 A lot of people told me I was a right dipstick to make my brother a partner in the business, but this only goes to prove how bloody right they were. 2002 C. Adair In too Deep ii. 15 Tally was grateful beyond belief that he wasn't going to say any more about her grabbing on to his dipstick. |