drip
drip — verb
1. When a liquid drips, small amounts of it fall one after another from a surface o
When a liquid drips, small amounts of it fall one after another from a surface or container. You can also drip a liquid, meaning you cause it to fall that way.
Rainwater dripped from the edge of the wooden roof onto the stone floor.
drip from [place] onto [place] — prepositional pattern
Eitan carefully dripped the last of the honey into his grandmother's tea.
drip + object + into [container] — transitive use
Sari watched the paint drip slowly down the wall in thick white lines.
drip down [surface] — directional adverb
Water dripped from the air conditioner onto the car parked below.
Indra dripped a few drops of essential oil onto the warm candle wax.
- drip from
- drip onto
- drip into
- drip down
- drip slowly
Grammar Patterns
drip + adverb/preposition (intransitive)
drip + object + adverb/preposition (transitive)
Usage Note
Transitive use (drip + object) requires an adverb or prepositional phrase — you cannot say 'I dripped the water' without saying where.
Common Mistakes
2. If a tap, pipe, or other object drips, it lets liquid fall from it in drops, usu
If a tap, pipe, or other object drips, it lets liquid fall from it in drops, usually because it is wet, leaking, or has not been dried.
The old kitchen tap dripped all night, keeping the whole house awake.
subject [tap/faucet/pipe] + drip — object as source
After her swim, Nala's hair dripped water across the changing room floor.
The leaky pipe in the basement dripped steadily onto a cardboard box.
drip onto [surface] — indicates where drops land
Caio's umbrella dripped across the carpet as he stepped through the door.
Amihan noticed the bathroom faucet had been dripping since early morning.
- drip steadily
- drip constantly
- drip onto
- tap drips
- faucet drips
Grammar Patterns
drip + adverb/preposition
Usage Note
Subject is typically a container, pipe, or body part that is wet or leaking. The liquid itself may or may not be mentioned — 'His coat dripped' and 'His coat dripped water' are both natural.
Common Mistakes
drip — noun
1. A single small drop of liquid that falls or has fallen from something.
A single small drop of liquid that falls or has fallen from something.
A single drip of red wine landed on the white tablecloth.
a drip of [liquid] — countable
Anthony wiped the drips of paint off the floor with a wet cloth.
There were small drips of oil on the kitchen counter near the stove.
Kabir felt a cold drip of water fall onto his neck from the ceiling.
a drip of water — typical collocation
The doctor examined a drip of blood under the microscope.
- a drip of
- drips of
- small drips
Grammar Patterns
a drip of [liquid]
drips of [liquid]
Usage Note
Often used with "of + liquid" to specify the substance. Can also stand alone when the liquid is obvious from context.
2. The soft repeated sound that liquid makes when it falls in drops, or the action
The soft repeated sound that liquid makes when it falls in drops, or the action of falling in this way.
The steady drip of the faucet kept Hyun awake all through the night.
the steady drip of [source]
In the silent cave, they could hear only the drip of water from above.
There was a slow, regular drip coming from somewhere behind the wall.
Nikos listened to the drip of rain falling from the broken gutter.
the drip of [liquid] + from [place]
- steady drip
- slow drip
- the drip of
- drip of water
Grammar Patterns
the drip of [liquid]
the steady drip of
Usage Note
Unlike noun sense 1 (which refers to individual drops), this sense refers to the ongoing sound or process. Used with 'the' and typically uncountable.
3. A hospital device with a bag of liquid hung beside the bed, connected by thin tu
A hospital device with a bag of liquid hung beside the bed, connected by thin tubing to a needle placed in a patient's vein, used to supply medicine or keep the body hydrated.
The nurse adjusted the drip so the medicine would flow more quickly.
adjust the drip — typical verb collocation
Eitan was put on a drip after the surgery to keep him hydrated.
be / put on a drip
The patient lay in bed with a drip connected to his left arm.
Doctors attached a drip to feed nutrients directly into her bloodstream.
- on a drip
- put on a drip
- adjust the drip
- attach a drip
- IV
short for intravenous line; broader term that includes a drip but also covers other IV setups
- intravenous drip
full formal name
Grammar Patterns
be on a drip
put someone on a drip
Usage Note
Short for 'intravenous drip'. In informal hospital talk, nurses and doctors say 'on a drip'. Rarely countable — you would say 'he needs a drip' not 'two drips'.
4. An insult for a person who is dull, weak in character, and not interesting to be
An insult for a person who is dull, weak in character, and not interesting to be around.
The party was full of drips who talked only about their office work.
plural: drips
Don't be such a drip — come and dance with the rest of us.
such a drip — common informal pattern
Everyone avoided sitting next to him because he was a complete drip.
Marta thought the new manager was a drip with no sense of humour.
- be a drip
- such a drip
- complete drip
- bore
focuses on causing boredom, not necessarily weak character
- wet blanket
someone who spoils others' enjoyment by being dull or negative
Grammar Patterns
be a drip
such a drip
Usage Note
Old-fashioned or mildly offensive. More common in British English than American. Use 'bore' or 'loser' for a more current insult.
5. A fashionable, impressive outfit or overall look, especially one that shows conf
A fashionable, impressive outfit or overall look, especially one that shows confidence and good taste in clothes and accessories.
His drip was unmatched — everyone at the show complimented his outfit.
possessive + drip — 'his drip'
That jacket is serious drip; where did you get it?
serious drip — slang intensifier
The rapper showed up with full drip, from his shoes to his watch.
full drip — complete fashionable look
Nala's drip at the party impressed even the fashion critics.
- have drip
- full drip
- serious drip
- bring the drip
Grammar Patterns
have drip
full drip
serious drip
Usage Note
Modern slang, originally from African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Used primarily in casual speech, social media, and hip-hop culture. Not appropriate in formal writing.
6. A projecting edge built into a wall, windowsill, or cornice that sends rainwater
A projecting edge built into a wall, windowsill, or cornice that sends rainwater away from the building surface below.
The stone drip above the window kept rainwater from running down the wall.
drip above [feature] — architectural positioning
The architect designed a small concrete drip around the top of each column.
Drips are common on old buildings to protect the walls from rain damage.
The wooden sill had a carved drip underneath to guide water away.
carved drip — material + construction
- stone drip
- concrete drip
- drip above
- carved drip
- drip edge
more common modern term, especially for roofing
- weathering
broader architectural term for any surface shaped to shed water
Grammar Patterns
a drip above/over [part of building]
Usage Note
A technical term in architecture and construction. Also called a 'drip edge' or 'weather check'. Not used in everyday conversation.
drip — adjective
1. Describing a method of making coffee by pouring hot water over ground coffee bea
Describing a method of making coffee by pouring hot water over ground coffee beans and letting the liquid pass through a filter into a container below.
Sari prefers drip coffee over instant because the taste is much richer.
The café serves a strong drip coffee that customers love in the morning.
strong drip coffee — modifier pattern
Emre bought a new drip coffee maker for his kitchen last weekend.
drip coffee maker — compound noun
Drip coffee takes longer to prepare but has a cleaner flavour.
- drip coffee
- drip coffee maker
- drip brew
- filter coffee
more common in British English; refers to the same brewing method
- instant coffee
made by dissolving granules in hot water, not by filtering
Grammar Patterns
drip + noun (drip coffee, drip maker)
Usage Note
Used only before nouns (attributive position). You cannot say 'this coffee is drip.' The noun phrase 'drip coffee' contrasts with 'instant coffee', 'espresso', and 'French press coffee'.
drip — noun
1. Short for 'dividend reinvestment plan': a programme that lets shareholders use t
Short for 'dividend reinvestment plan': a programme that lets shareholders use the money from their dividends to buy more shares automatically instead of receiving the cash.
Hyun enrolled in a DRIP to grow his investment without paying extra fees.
Many companies offer a DRIP to encourage long-term shareholding.
offer a DRIP — typical verb collocation
The dividends from her stocks were automatically reinvested through a DRIP.
Kabir set up a DRIP with his brokerage account last year.
set up a DRIP
- set up a DRIP
- offer a DRIP
- enrol in a DRIP
- through a DRIP
Grammar Patterns
DRIP
a DRIP
Usage Note
Always written in uppercase letters as 'DRIP' or 'D.R.I.P.' The full term 'dividend reinvestment plan' is used in formal documents; 'DRIP' is common in investing forums and articles.
Word family
- drippingnounB1
- drippyadjectiveC1
- drip-dryadjectiveC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
These four words all describe liquid moving in small amounts, but they differ in how the liquid moves. Drip means separate drops falling one by one — you see distinct drops. Trickle describes a thin, slow, continuous stream, not separate drops: a trickle of water runs down a rock face. Dribble usually refers to small amounts of liquid escaping from the mouth (saliva, milk) or moving unsteadily, and it sounds less controlled than drip. Leak is broader — any fluid escaping from a container or pipe, whether in drops or a stream. A tap can drip; a pipe can leak. For describing the precise sound of single drops, drip is the right word.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'drip' comes from Old English drypan 'to fall in drops', related to dropa 'a drop'. It is a Germanic word, related to Dutch druipen and German triefen. The noun sense of 'a boring person' dates from the early 20th century, while the slang fashion sense emerged in hip-hop culture in the 2010s.