sop

1 of 3

noun

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

SOP

3 of 3

abbreviation

standard operating procedure; standing operating procedure

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
In a sop to France, free and open-source general-purpose models, such as those offered by Parisian AI darling Mistral, are subject to lighter risk assessments. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024 The administration appears to be playing election-year politics by prolonging the LNG permitting process as a sop to activists. Mike Sommers, Fortune Europe, 1 Feb. 2024 Incidentally, there’s one sop for all the kids hoping to follow in 21’s footsteps of hustling in the streets, earning enough money for professional studio time, then scoring a ticket out of the trap with a viral hit or two. Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2024 Payne’s sops to political correctness are all that distinguish his trio of holdovers from Hattie McDaniel in Alice Adams, Monty Woolley in The Man Who Came to Dinner, and Jason Schwartzman in Rushmore, or any of the teens in a John Hughes movie. Armond White, National Review, 27 Dec. 2023 The season also includes direct nods to imagery and dialogue from the first season — generally unnecessary citations that feel like a sop to the Pizzolatto-worshipping corner of the fandom, since otherwise Night Country is at odds with the previous seasons in terms of theme and overall perspective. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Jan. 2024 This has been a necessary sop to the extremists in his coalition to ensure their support for his premiership as well as to turn a blind eye to his mounting legal troubles. Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 23 Oct. 2023 As a sop to the Republicans’ rich patrons, the House caucus would rescind all of the $88 billion in additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service that was enacted as part of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023 Maybe the speaker will be able to do both at once—many observers see the impeachment push as a McCarthy sop to get his right flank to agree to fund the government—but that seems unlikely, especially given his precarious perch as House speaker. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 14 Sep. 2023
Verb
Like any true party, a splash in the pool took place thanks to their friend Sam Wyer, who returned to the celebration sopping wet. Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 26 Feb. 2024 A little water should squeeze out also, but the mix should not be sopping wet. Kenneth Setzer, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 Woodson, an all-time IU great who has been an NBA head coach for two teams, is sopping wet and too stubborn to ask for a towel. Gregg Doyel, The Indianapolis Star, 10 Jan. 2024 Get the Recipe Arkansas Dessert: Chocolate Gravy Also known as sopping chocolate, chocolate gravy is a classic sweet treat—whether served as breakfast, snack, or dessert—in the South, particularly in the regions of the Ozark and Appalachian Mountains. Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2024 The surge in the money supply as a result of expansionary monetary policy from the Fed and a boatload of government spending led to 500 basis points of interest-rate hikes to try to sop it up. The Editors, National Review, 14 July 2023 No plant likes to be sopping wet, and the average houseplant (especially succulents) prefers to dry out a little before watering. Arricca Elin Sansone, House Beautiful, 30 July 2023 For the year, Washington may still be running a rainfall deficit, but Sunday helped reveal July as sopping wet so far, with days of sprinkle and shower, downpour and deluge. Martin Weil, Washington Post, 10 July 2023 The tedious chore has met its match with these gadgets that not only swiftly rid floors of dirt and debris, but some even come equipped as two-in-one models, which include a nifty mopping component for effectively sopping wet messes. Wendy Vazquez, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of sop was before the 12th century

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Dictionary Entries Near sop

Cite this Entry

“Sop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sop. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sop

1 of 2 noun
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

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