trickled; trickling
ˈtri-k(ə-)liŋ 
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
: a thin, slow, or intermittent stream or movement
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
Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2025
Turn on a soaker hose for about 10 minutes, then turn the water off for an hour to allow the water to trickle down into the soil, not runoff.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 25 June 2025
Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
Last year the trickle of upgrades moved back and forth, creating some heartburn in the cyber community, as the prospect of a security nightmare with hundreds of millions of Windows users running unsupported PCs started to seem very real.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for trickle
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Verb
The stream of haunted houses for Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights continues to trickle out, and Friday’s announcement sounds like a cool relief for folks living through another Florida summer.
—Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2025
Turn on a soaker hose for about 10 minutes, then turn the water off for an hour to allow the water to trickle down into the soil, not runoff.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 25 June 2025
Noun
After blocking all food for 2 1/2 months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May.
—Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
Last year the trickle of upgrades moved back and forth, creating some heartburn in the cyber community, as the prospect of a security nightmare with hundreds of millions of Windows users running unsupported PCs started to seem very real.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for trickle
Cite this Entry
“Trickle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trickle. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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