dip

dip vb 1 Dip, immerse, submerge, duck, souse, dunk are comparable when meaning to plunge a person or thing into or as if into liquid.

Dip implies a momentary or partial plunging into a liquid or a slight or cursory entrance into a subject

{

the priest shall dip his finger in the blood— Lev 4:6

}

{

dip a dress in cleansing fluid

}

{

dip into a book

}

{

she had dipped in the wells of blissful oblivion— Meredith

}

Immerse implies that the person or thing is covered by the liquid or buried or engrossed in something

{

immerse the persons being baptized

}

{

immerse a dress in boiling dye for several minutes

}

{

immerse oneself in thought

}

{

I am at present wholly immersed in country business— A d dison

}

Submerge implies complete and often prolonged immersion (as in an inundation) or a being overwhelmed or, sometimes, overpowered and made helpless

{

the submarine submerged

}

{

several houses were completely submerged by the flood

}

{

the last and most violent religious rebellion . . . seemed likely to submerge that monarchy— Belloc

}

{

It may suggest a sinking to the lowest state, grade, or status personality had been submerged by organization— W. P. Webb

}

{

almost unheard of for such a girl to enter into relations with a man of that submerged class— Mencken

}

Duck implies a sudden plunging and an almost immediate withdrawal

{

I say, duck her in the loch, and then we will see whether she is witch or not— Scott

}

{

ducked into a doorway to avoid a bore

}

Souse adds to duck the suggestion of more prolonged immersion and often of a thorough soaking

{

the boy was soused before he was freed from his captors

}

{

a blazing caldron in which Beelzebub is sousing the damned— Arnold

}

{

after being soused in the Atlantic ocean— Aldrich

}

Souse sometimes implies steeping of meat, fish, or other food in a pickle or tart liquid for the sake of preserving and flavoring it

{

soused mackerel

}

It may often imply not only immersion but a being saturated and, hence, after liquor drinking a becoming intoxicated (came home night after night thoroughly soused)

Dunk in its basic use means to dip and soak something (as bread or a doughnut) in coffee, tea, or milk before eating it, but in many contexts it is equivalent to duck or immerse

{

men dangling from lines, being dunked in the cold sea as the ship rolled— Cronk

}

2 Dip, bail, scoop, ladle, spoon, dish mean to remove a liquid or a loose or soft substance from a container by means of an implement (as a pail, spoon, or scoop). They are often followed by up or out.

Dip suggests the process of plunging the utensil (usually called a dipper) into the substance and lifting it out full; it is the preferred word when the labor involved is to be implied or the action is described

{

dip drinking water from a spring

}

{

dip into one's memory for facts one has nearly forgotten

}

Bail is used chiefly in reference to something (as a boat) in which water has accumulated or is accumulating; it implies emptying or an attempt to empty by means of repeated dipping

{

bail the water out of a rowboat

}

{

by the help of a small bucket and our hats We bailed her [a boat] out— Dana

}

Scoop, ladle, spoon throw the emphasis on the kind of implement employed in an operation consisting usually of dipping, conveying, and pouring.

Scoop suggests a shovellike implement, either a small kitchen utensil for dipping out loose dry material (as flour, sugar, or coffee beans) or for gouging out pieces of a soft substance (as cheese) or a much larger and heavier implement used in digging or excavating operations or in the removal of a heap of things from one place to another

{

scoop out three cups of sugar

}

{

scoop up the catch of fish into barrels

}

{

scooping gravel from the pit into waiting trucks

}

Ladle implies the use of a ladle, or long-handled implement with a bowl-shaped end and often a pouring lip; it is especially used of substances which are liable to be spilled

{

ladle soup into bowls

}

{

ladle out the punch

}

The term sometimes implies the use of a mechanical device for removing and conveying liquid (as molten metal) from one container to another.

Spoon implies the use of a spoon in lifting and depositing something (as food or medicine)

{

the girl who spoons out vegetables in the cafeteria

}

{

slowly spooning up the hot soup

}

Dish implies transference to the individual plate or dish of a portion of food (as by ladling or spooning)

{

dish out the vegetables

}

{

dish up the ice cream

}