TRICKLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does trickle mean? 

• TRICKLE (noun)
  The noun TRICKLE has 1 sense:

1. flowing in drops; the formation and falling of drops of liquid

  Familiarity information: TRICKLE used as a noun is very rare.

• TRICKLE (verb)
  The verb TRICKLE has 1 sense:

1. run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream

  Familiarity information: TRICKLE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TRICKLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

dribble; drip; trickle

Context example:

there's a drip through the roof

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

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

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

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

Derivation:

trickle (run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream)

• TRICKLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they trickle    ... he / she / it trickles   
Past simple: trickled   
Past participle: trickled   
-ing form: trickling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

dribble; filter; trickle

Context example:

reports began to dribble in

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

course; feed; flow; run (move along, of liquids)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "trickle"):

leach; percolate (permeate or penetrate gradually)

Sentence frames:

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

Sentence example:

Water and oil trickle into the bowl

Derivation:

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

 Context examples 

My aunt's tears of pleasure were positively trickling down into the warm ale.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

At the end of half an hour the man was aware of a warm trickle in his throat.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

It was a backward slip rather than a knockdown, but a thin trickle of blood was seen at the corner of Jim’s mouth.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

From every hill slope came the trickle of running water, the music of unseen fountains.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Her white nightdress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man's bare breast which was shown by his torn-open dress.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The sweat was standing on my forehead, and I could feel it trickling down my nose.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“Stand off my land!” the man said fiercely, heedless of the blood which trickled freely from his fingers.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Following the path backwards, we picked out another spot, where a spring trickled across it.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mr. Rochester opened the shirt of the wounded man, whose arm and shoulder were bandaged: he sponged away blood, trickling fast down.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

One edition of jelly was trickled from pot to pot, another lay upon the floor, and a third was burning gaily on the stove.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)