sop

1 of 3

noun

1
chiefly dialectal : a piece of food dipped or steeped in a liquid
2
: a conciliatory or propitiatory bribe, gift, or gesture

sop

2 of 3

verb

sopped; sopping

transitive verb

1
a
: to steep or dip in or as if in liquid
b
: to wet thoroughly : soak
2

SOP

3 of 3

abbreviation

standard operating procedure; standing operating procedure

Examples of sop in a Sentence

Noun as a sop to the teachers' union for supporting his reelection campaign, the mayor promised to push for the abolition of the residency requirement Verb sopped the sponge with the detergent and began scrubbing the floor vigorously my book fell in the swimming pool and was thoroughly sopped before I could fish it out
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
But these are just MacGuffins: sops to the Beltway superfans. Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2024 Some Republicans are portraying the continuation of subsidies as a sop to health insurers. Peter Sullivan, Axios, 14 Aug. 2024
Verb
More and more of them are now being made to be sopped, as much as in a margarita or any of the myriad cocktails issued by bartenders and producers. John Mariani, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024 Standing in competitions for nine-plus hours and walking 10 miles in that house in sopping wet clothes and winning two HOHs and a veto. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 13 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sop 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English soppe, from Old English sopp; akin to Old English sūpan to swallow — more at sup

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of sop was before the 12th century

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Dictionary Entries Near sop

Cite this Entry

“Sop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sop. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

sop

1 of 2 noun
1
chiefly dialect : a piece of food dipped or soaked in a liquid (as bread dipped in milk or gravy)
2
: a bribe or gift for soothing or winning approval

sop

2 of 2 verb
sopped; sopping
1
a
: to soak or dip in or as if in liquid
b
: to wet thoroughly
2
: to mop or soak up
sopping up gravy with bread

More from Merriam-Webster on sop

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