dope

verb

doped; doping

transitive verb

1

informal

a

: to give a narcotic or intoxicating drug to

It was only when doped with scopolamine that he got any rest.

—Robert McAlmon and Kay Boyle

b

: to surreptitiously put a sedating drug into

What does the murder have to do with the phone-date service he was investigating when someone doped his drink?

—Marilyn Stasio

c

: to administer a drug to (a horse) to help or hinder performance in a race

Francis rode a doped horse once. The animal … ran right through the first hurdle, throwing Francis, and veered off into the woods nearby, where it was finally captured hours later.

—Bill Barich

2

informal : figure out

—usually used with out

The following day I returned and spent some time trying to dope out the trails the deer was using.

—John Weiss

It's hard to dope out what, exactly, flavors the lemony, faintly soyish marinade that powers the excellent barbecued chicken …

—Sam Sifton

3

: to treat with dope or a dopant

The airfoil leading edge and ribs are fiberglass moldings, and the skin, as on early airplanes, is fabric doped to drum-tightness.

—David Scott

We developed a method to dope semiconductor nanocrystals with metal impurities, enabling control of the band gap …

—David Mocatta et al.

intransitive verb

1

informal : to take an intoxicating drug

2

informal : to use a performance-enhancing substance typically banned for use in sports

A week after that surreal scene, Danish hero Bjarne Riis admitted that he'd doped to win the 1996 Tour France Riis …

—Austin Murphy

Synonyms of dope

• solve
• unravel
• answer
• resolve

Examples of dope in a Sentence

They tried to dope him.

Recent Examples on the Web

The athletes were doping under the close supervision of a team of doctors, as part of a clinical trial conducted this past spring in Abu Dhabi. —Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 25 May 2026

Those, apparently, were from doping control officers trying to track him down. —ABC News, 23 May 2026

Finally, Mykhailo Mudryk is currently appealing a ban for doping at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. —Cerys Jones, New York Times, 21 May 2026

But in hindsight, all my friends that grew up with successful parents are all the ones that are addicted to dope and can’t get it together. —Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Phrases Containing dope

• dope out
• dope sick
• dope up
• fly dope
• the dope
• the inside dope
• the straight dope

Rhymes for dope

• cope
• grope
• lope
• mope
• nope
• rope
• scope
• shope
• slope
• soap
• stope
• swope

Kids Definition

dope

1 of 2 noun

ˈdōp 

1

: a thick sticky material (as one used to make pipe joints tight)

2

informal : an illegal, habit-forming, or narcotic drug

especially : marijuana

3

informal : a stupid person

4

informal : information especially from a reliable source

dope

2 of 2 verb

doped; doping

informal

1

: to treat or affect with dope

especially : to give a narcotic to

2

: find out

—usually used with out

Medical Definition

dope

1 of 2 noun

ˈdōp 

1

a

: a preparation of an illicit, habit-forming, or narcotic drug (as opium, heroin, or marijuana)

b

: a preparation given to a racehorse to help or hinder its performance

2

: a narcotic addict

dope

2 of 2 verb

doped; doping

transitive verb

: to give a narcotic to

intransitive verb

: to take dope