trickle

1 of 2

verb

trick·​le ˈtri-kəl 

trickled; trickling ˈtri-k(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

a

: to issue or fall in drops

b

: to flow in a thin gentle stream

2

a

: to move or go one by one or little by little

customers began to trickle in

b

: to dissipate slowly

his enthusiasm trickled away

trickle

2 of 2

noun

: a thin, slow, or intermittent stream or movement

Synonyms

Verb

• drip
• flow

Examples of trickle in a Sentence

Verb

Tears trickled down her cheeks.

Water was trickling out of the gutter.

People trickled into the theater.

Donations have been trickling in.

Noun

We heard the trickle of water from the roof.

The flow of water slowed to a trickle.

Sales have slowed to a trickle in recent weeks.

A slow trickle of customers came into the store throughout the day.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The same optimization mindset is trickling into chemistry, finance and logistics. —Yuval Boger, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025

For fiscal years 2025 and 2026, Missouri set aside about $15 million annually that trickles down to behavioral health providers to staff and fund their mobile crisis teams. —Meg Cunningham, Kansas City Star, 8 July 2025

Noun

His moves have raised fears that economic growth would slow to a trickle, if not make the U.S. and other nations more vulnerable to a recession. —arkansasonline.com, 8 July 2025

Water trickles in through the cracks, slowly rising. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English trikelen, of imitative origin

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1580, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing trickle

• trickle-down
• trickle-down theory

Rhymes for trickle

• fickle
• mickle
• nickel
• nickle
• nicol
• pickle
• prickle
• sickle
• tickle
• ventricle

Kids Definition

trickle

verb

trick·​le

ˈtrik-əl

trickled; trickling

-(ə-)liŋ

1

a

: to flow or fall in drops

water trickling from a leaky faucet

b

: to flow in a thin slow stream

syrup trickling from the bottle

2

a

: to move or go one by one or little by little

customers trickled in

b

: to slowly grow less

his excitement trickled away

trickle noun