dope

play

noun \ ˈdōp \

Definition of dope

1 a :a thick liquid or pasty preparation

b :a preparation for giving a desired quality to a substance or surface

2 :absorbent or adsorbent material used in various manufacturing processes (such as the making of dynamite)

3 a (1) :an illicit, habit-forming, or narcotic drug; especially :marijuana

(2) :a preparation given to a racehorse to help or hinder its performance

b chiefly Southern :a cola drink

c :a stupid person

4 :information especially from a reliable source

the inside dope

See dope defined for English-language learners

See dope defined for kids

Examples of dope in a Sentence

They were caught smoking dope.
What a dope he is.

Recent Examples of dope from the Web

The actor stepped out in Los Angeles yesterday wearing his own personal security blanket/superhero cape, a very dope, very expensive leather jacket—in a very un-Batman color.

— megan gustashaw, GQ, "Ben Affleck Is Confused About Which Superhero He's No Longer Playing," 30 Aug. 2017
Newslook The stock market is playing the Wall Street version of rope-a-dope.

— adam shell, USA TODAY, "Teflon Dow shrugs off Trump woes, North Korea," 16 Aug. 2017
No doubt many of the men and women on the terrorism watch list are genuine bad guys, and no doubt many of those who have lost their property to asset forfeiture are peddling dope.

— the editors, National Review, "Jeff Sessions Should Drop His Expansion of Civil Asset Forfeiture," 20 July 2017
But come October, the Broad is quintupling your chances of getting a dope selfie by bringing five more of the Japanese artist’s totally bonkers installations into its hallowed halls.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Five More Yayoi Kusama Infinity Rooms Are Coming to the Broad This Fall, and You’re Going to Lose Your Mind," 19 July 2017
Thank you @farfetch for hooking me up w dope threads.

— jacob bernstein, New York Times, "Is There Anything Ansel Elgort Can’t Do?," 1 July 2017
Who knew LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri and his College World Series finalists Tigers could rope-a-dope so well?

— ron higgins, NOLA.com, "Oregon State goes down for the count as LSU moves on to CWS finals," 24 June 2017
Ray promises to take you to the best dope around, as long as there’s a bag in it for him.

— mike newall, Philly.com, "Resisting temptation, when you're young and addicted to heroin in Kensington," 23 June 2017
Seventy-two-year-old Sam Elliott turns in a convincing performance playing an out-of-work old cowboy actor who spends most of his time smoking dope with his dealer (Nick Offerman).

— OregonLive.com, "Movie picks: 'The Hero,' 'Batman: The Movie' and more," 21 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dope.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of dope

Dutch doop sauce, from dopen to dip; akin to Old English dyppan to dip

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1786

See Words from the same year

dope Synonyms

Synonyms

book, 411 [slang], inside, lowdown, poop [slang], scoop, skinny [slang], tip

Antonyms

brain, genius

Related Words

dirt, dish, gossip, rumor, story; hint, pointer; information, intelligence, news, tidings, word

Near Antonyms

ancient history, open secret

Other Drug/Tobacco Terms

controlled, flake, herb, key, sodden

dope

verb

Definition of dope

doped; doping

transitive verb

1 :to treat or affect with dope; especially :to give a narcotic to

2 :figure out —usually used with out

3 :to treat with a dopant

intransitive verb

:to take dope

—

doper

noun

See dope defined for English-language learners

Examples of dope in a Sentence

They tried to dope him.

Recent Examples of dope from the Web

The agency hasn’t formally been reinstated by the World Anti-Doping Agency — and won’t be unless Russia’s government admits at least some level of culpability in past doping cover-ups.

— james ellingworth, The Seattle Times, "After doping scandals, Russia touts reformed testing agency," 17 Aug. 2017
Terrified by the flying bullets, the lions—still doped-up and accustomed to being fed by humans since birth—panic.

— nina burleigh, Newsweek, "Kruger Park, South Africa: Where Black Poachers Are Hunted as Much as Their Prey," 8 Aug. 2017
The topic was back at front and center on Saturday, not long after Goucher’s ceremony, as the American Justin Gatlin, twice banned for doping offenses, upset Usain Bolt to win the 100 meters.

— christopher clarey, New York Times, "An Awkward and Bittersweet Righting of Doping’s Wrongs," 6 Aug. 2017
The 35-year-old, who has served two doping bans and been widely cast as a villain to Bolt’s hero, went sprawling to the ground with a huge smile.

— Washington Post, "Bronze and gone: In a shocker, Bolt takes third at worlds," 5 Aug. 2017
The last two years have been filled with sordid stories of doping corruption in Russia that brought track and field to a new low.

— eddie pells, courant.com, "Bolt says no chance of loss in farewell or a comeback," 1 Aug. 2017
This whole scheme will work much better using crystals, where, instead of atomic clouds, bits are stored in ions that are doped into material.

— chris lee, Ars Technica, "Frosted glass obscures quantum information," 20 July 2017
A drunk and doped-up guy, Tommy Williams, showed up to a Clearwater home wearing his birthday suit, ringing a doorbell several times before heading to the back yard and opening two sheds, deputies said, reports WFLA NBC News-8 in Tampa.

— barbara hijek, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Blotto, high nude dude showed up at home, threw feces, deputies say," 26 June 2017
Seven months later, the NFL cleared Manning of all doping charges and the quarterback went on to lead the Broncos to a Superbowl victory.

— jessica loudis, New Republic, "What Did Al Jazeera Do?," 20 June 2017

First Known Use of dope

1889

dope

adjective

Definition of dope

slang

:excellent —used as a generalized term of approval

See dope defined for English-language learners

Examples of dope in a Sentence

That movie was so dope.
Check out this dope new song.

First Known Use of dope

1981

dope Synonyms

Synonyms

A-OK, A1, awesome, bang-up, banner, beautiful, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny (also bonnie) [chiefly British], boss [slang], brag, brave, bully, bumper, capital, choice, classic, cool [slang], corking, crackerjack, cracking, dandy, divine, excellent [slang], down [slang], dynamite, fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous [slang], fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, four-star, frontline, gangbusters (also gangbuster), gilt-edged (or gilt-edge), gone [slang], grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-class, hot, hype [slang], immense, jim-dandy, keen, lovely, marvelous (or marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, number one (also No. 1), numero uno, out-of-sight [slang], par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat [slang], prime, primo [slang], prize, prizewinning, quality, radical [slang], righteous [slang], sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-flight, top-notch, top-of-the-line, topping [chiefly British], top-shelf, unsurpassed, wizard [chiefly British], wonderful

Antonyms

atrocious, awful, execrable, lousy, pathetic, poor, rotten, terrible, vile, wretched

Related Words

acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, good, OK (or okay), passable, satisfactory, tolerable; better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, high-test, premium, select, special, superfine; classical, standard, traditional

Near Antonyms

bad, inferior, low-grade, substandard, unsatisfactory; mediocre, middling, second-class, second-rate

DOPE Defined for English Language Learners

dope

play

noun

Definition of dope for English Language Learners

: an illegal drug (such as marijuana or heroin)
: a stupid or annoying person
the dope : information about someone or something that is not commonly or immediately known

dope

verb

Definition of dope for English Language Learners

: to give a drug to (a person or animal) especially to cause unconsciousness
: to put a drug in (something, such as food or a drink) to make a person or animal unconscious

dope

adjective

Definition of dope for English Language Learners

: great or excellent

DOPE Defined for Kids

dope

play

noun \ ˈdōp \

Definition of dope for Students

1 :an illegal drug

2 :a stupid person

3 :information

What's the dope on the new kid?

Medical Dictionary

dope

play

noun \ ˈdōp \

medical Definition of dope

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

verb

medical Definition of dope

doped; doping

transitive verb

:to give a narcotic to

intransitive verb

:to take dope

Learn More about dope

See words that rhyme with dope Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dope Spanish Central: Translation of dope Nglish: Translation of dope for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dope for Arabic speakers

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dope

Definition of dope

doper

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First Known Use of dope

dope

Definition of dope

Examples of dope in a Sentence

First Known Use of dope

dope Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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DOPE Defined for English Language Learners

dope

Definition of dope for English Language Learners

dope

Definition of dope for English Language Learners

dope

Definition of dope for English Language Learners

DOPE Defined for Kids

dope

Definition of dope for Students

Medical Dictionary

dope

medical Definition of dope

dope

medical Definition of dope

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