Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

1

dope

play
noun \ˈdōp\

Definition of dope

  1. 1a :  a thick liquid or pasty preparationb :  a preparation for giving a desired quality to a substance or surface

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

  3. 3a (1) :  an illicit, habit-forming, or narcotic drug; especially :  marijuana (2) :  a preparation given to a racehorse to help or hinder its performanceb chiefly Southern :  a cola drinkc :  a stupid person

  4. 4 :  information especially from a reliable source the inside dope

See dope defined for English-language learners

See dope defined for kids

Explore Merriam-Webster

dope
10 English Words from Dutch
merriam-webster-works
How Long Did it Take to Write the Dictionary?
supreme-court-at-dusk
Trending: SCOTUS: 'Bona Fide' relationships
decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Examples of dope in a Sentence

  1. They were caught smoking dope.

  2. What a dope he is.

Origin and Etymology of dope

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

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

2

dope

verb

Definition of dope

doped

;

doping
  1. transitive verb

  2. 1 :  to treat or affect with dope; especially :  to give a narcotic to

  3. 2 :  figure out —usually used with out

  4. 3 :  to treat with a dopant

  5. intransitive verb

  6. :  to take dope

doper

noun

See dope defined for English-language learners

Examples of dope in a Sentence

  1. They tried to dope him.

First Known Use of dope

1889

3

dope

adjective

Definition of dope

slang

  1. :  excellent —used as a generalized term of approval

See dope defined for English-language learners

Examples of dope in a Sentence

  1. That movie was so dope.

  2. 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

Phrases Related to DOPE

Related Phrases

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. 1 :  an illegal drug

  2. 2 :  a stupid person

  3. 3 :  information What's the dope on the new kid?

Medical Dictionary

1

dope

play
noun \ˈdōp\

Medical Definition of dope

  1. 1a:  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. 2:  a narcotic addict

2

dope

verb

Medical Definition of dope

doped

;

doping

  2. transitive verb

    3. :  to give a narcotic to

  4. intransitive verb

    5. :  to take dope

Learn More about dope

  1. 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

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up dope? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

scapegrace

play

an incorrigible rascal

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. bona fide Made in good faith

  2. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

  3. zealot A fanatical partisan

  4. stonewall to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

  5. scurrilous Containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

dope

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
  • Which is a synonym of garner?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-5949565fc7d94
'Negging' Moves Beyond The Bar

Not just for pick-up artists anymore

alt-5947fc40f1b5c
In Tech, What Does 'K' Mean?

A buzzword with a long history.

alt-5951697e1a410
When To Use 'Specious' vs. 'Spurious'

These similar words are not interchangeable

alt-594bf2ec5f26e
Quick: Read This!

'Quick' once had a very different meaning

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz
alt-5941ad7527c3c
Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game
Examples: dope in a Sentence