sop

1 of 3

noun

ˈsäp 

1

chiefly dialectal : a piece of food dipped or steeped in a liquid

2

: a conciliatory or propitiatory bribe, gift, or gesture

sop

2 of 3

verb

sopped; sopping

transitive verb

1

a

: to steep or dip in or as if in liquid

b

: to wet thoroughly : soak

2

: mop sense 1

SOP

3 of 3

abbreviation

standard operating procedure; standing operating procedure

Synonyms

Noun

• backhander [British]
• boodle
• bribe
• cumshaw
• fix

Verb

• drench
• drown
• impregnate
• macerate
• saturate
• soak
• sodden
• souse
• steep

Examples of sop in a Sentence

Noun

as a sop to the teachers' union for supporting his reelection campaign, the mayor promised to push for the abolition of the residency requirement

Verb

sopped the sponge with the detergent and began scrubbing the floor vigorously

my book fell in the swimming pool and was thoroughly sopped before I could fish it out

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Simpson emerged as a spear-carrier for Social Security benefit cuts in 2010, when he was appointed the GOP co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, established by Barack Obama as a sop to conservative deficit hawks. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025

Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision last month to shut down Germany's oldest nuclear reactors and temporarily scrub life extensions for the rest was widely seen as a sop to voters in the state of Baden-Württemberg. —IEEE Spectrum, 4 Apr. 2011

Verb

Solange, seen in sopping wet tresses this week, creative directed a birthday shoot for Ari Lennox. —India Espy-Jones, Essence, 31 Mar. 2025

Carpenter tosses a green bag of sopping compost into a bin, then bends over to pick up a black plastic bag filled with trash. —Alana Semuels/waitsfield, TIME, 24 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English soppe, from Old English sopp; akin to Old English sūpan to swallow — more at sup

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing sop

• sop up

Rhymes for sop

• bop
• chop
• cop
• crop
• drop
• flop
• fop
• hop
• knop
• lop
• mop
• op

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Kids Definition

sop

1 of 2 noun

ˈsäp 

1

chiefly dialect : a piece of food dipped or soaked in a liquid (as bread dipped in milk or gravy)

2

: a bribe or gift for soothing or winning approval

sop

2 of 2 verb

sopped; sopping

1

a

: to soak or dip in or as if in liquid

b

: to wet thoroughly

2

: to mop or soak up

sopping up gravy with bread