dip

Etymology 1

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

noun

1. A lower section of a road or geological feature.
   There is a dip in the road ahead.
   They were all doomed to be disappointed, however, for the errant engine decided at Stanley junction to spend the remainder of its crowded hour of freedom on the Aberdeen line, and finally came to rest, short of breath, in the dip between Ballathie and Cargill, near the bridge over the Tay. 1941 October, “Notes and News: A Highland Runaway”, in Railway Magazine, page 469
   After a signal check at Darley Dale, on the third run, the Pacific mounted the long 1 in 100 at a steady 53-54 m.p.h. and attained a brief 60 m.p.h. in the short dip before Monsal Dale. 1960 March, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, pages 177–178
2. Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line; slope; pitch.
3. The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid.
4. A tank or trough where cattle or sheep are immersed in chemicals to kill parasites.
5. A dip stick.
6. A swim, usually a short swim to refresh.
   I’m going for a dip before breakfast.
7. (colloquial, dated) A 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. 1906, Fred L. Boalt, "The Snitcher", McClure's Magazine v.26, p.633
   To steal a housewife's purse might mean that her children would have to go hungry; but what of that, if the flash young “dip” could gain admiration from his mates by boasting that he had “frisked a judy's cly and lifted a skinful of bunce”? 1959, Frank Clune, Murders on Maunga-tapu, page 10
8. A sauce for dipping.
   This onion dip is just scrumptious.
9. (geology) The angle from horizontal of a planar geologic surface, such as a fault line.
10. (archaic) A dipped candle.
    by the feeble light of the dip, he beheld the pale, haggard face of Smallbones 1837, Frederick Marryat, Snarleyyow, or the Dog Fiend
11. (dance) 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.
12. (bodybuilding">bodybuilding) A gymnastic or bodybuilding">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.
13. (turpentine industry) 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.
14. (aeronautics) A sudden drop followed by a climb, usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting into an airhole.
15. (uncountable) Finely ground tobacco, consumed by placing a small amount between the lip and gum.
    Packed a lip full of beluga caviar after mistaking a tin for a can of dip and then spat the juice into an urn that I thought was a sombre spittoon. 13 October 2018, Alex Watt, “Everything I've Done That Made a Rich Old Lady with Opera Glasses Faint or a Monocle Fall Out of a Rich Guy's Eye”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-18
16. (birdwatching, colloquial) The act of missing out on seeing a sought after bird.
    I'd missed them by a couple of hours. This dip did not bode well for the Hudwit. 2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 124
17. (UK, dialect, uncountable, Birmingham) Fried bread.
    My Dad, God bless him, rarely cooked anything, but if he ever did he would make himself an egg banjo! Fried bread? Or ‘dip’? 2020-05-29, Bocca della Verita (@BocaVerite), Twitter
18. (finance, informal) A financial asset in decline, seen as an investment opportunity.
    buy the dips

verb

1. (transitive) To lower into a liquid.
   Dip your biscuit into your tea.
2. (intransitive) To immerse oneself; to become plunged in a liquid; to sink.
3. (intransitive) (of a value or rate) To decrease slightly.
4. (transitive) To lower a light's beam.
   Dip your lights as you meet an oncoming car.
5. (transitive) 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. (transitive) To treat cattle or sheep by immersion in chemical solution.
   The farmer is going to dip the cattle today.
7. (transitive) To use a dip stick to check oil level in an engine.
8. To consume snuff by placing a pinch behind the lip or under the tongue so that the active chemical constituents of the snuff may be absorbed into the system for their narcotic effect.
9. (transitive) To immerse for baptism.
   new dipt Sectaries (Can we date this quote?), Thomas Fuller, The Appeal of Iniured Innocence
   […] during the reigns of King James and King Charles I, there were but very few children dipped in the font. c. 1722, Charles Wheatly, A rational illustration of the Book of Common Prayer
10. (transitive) To wet, as if by immersing; to moisten.
11. (intransitive) To plunge or engage thoroughly in any affair.
12. (transitive) To take out, by dipping a dipper, ladle, or other receptacle, into a fluid and removing a part; often with out.
    to dip water from a boiler; to dip out water
13. (intransitive) To perform the action of plunging a dipper, ladle. etc. into a liquid or soft substance and removing a part.
14. (transitive) To engage as a pledge; to mortgage.
15. (transitive) To perform (a bow or curtsey) by inclining the body.
16. (intransitive) To incline downward from the plane of the horizon.
    Strata of rock dip.
    The tunnel dips approximately 15 metres below Regents Canal and has a rising gradient at its northern end of 1-in-107. June 16 2021, Dr David Turner, “The latest face of Gasworks Tunnel”, in RAIL, number 933, page 34, photo caption
17. (transitive, dance) To perform a dip dance move (often phrased with the leader as the subject noun and the follower as the subject noun being dipped)
18. (transitive) To lower the body by bending the knees while keeping the body in an upright position, usually in rhythm, as when singing or dancing.
19. (intransitive, colloquial) To leave.
    He dipped out of the room so fast.
    Remember on my first lick, got lost in a house / Had to dip, bro, quick, before the dogs came out 2020-04-07, “Did Alotta”, Kai Bandz (lyrics), 1:07
20. (birdwatching, colloquial) To miss out on seeing a sought after bird.
    I assured him that I'd been birding long enough to know that there were no guarantees with birds and I wouldn't have held it against him if I'd dipped. 2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 124

Etymology 2

Back-formation from dippy.

noun

1. (informal) A foolish person.

Etymology 3

noun

1. (computer graphics) Initialism of device-independent pixel.

Etymology 4

Shortening.

noun

1. (informal) A diplomat.