Dip vs. Decline — What's the Difference?

To plunge briefly into a liquid, as in order to wet, coat, or saturate.

(typically of something regarded as good) become smaller, fewer, or less; decrease

To color or dye by immersing

Politely refuse (an invitation or offer)

To immerse (a sheep or other animal) in a disinfectant solution.

(especially of the sun) move downwards

To form (a candle) by repeatedly immersing a wick in melted wax or tallow.

(in the grammar of Latin, Greek, and certain other languages) state the forms of (a noun, pronoun, or adjective) corresponding to case, number, and gender.

To galvanize or plate (metal) by immersion.

A gradual and continuous loss of strength, numbers, quality, or value

To scoop up by plunging the hand or a receptacle below the surface, as of a liquid; ladle

To express polite refusal

To lower and raise (a flag) in salute.

To slope downward; descend

To lower or drop (something) suddenly

To bend downward; droop

(Slang) To pick the pockets of.

To degrade or lower oneself; stoop

To plunge into water or other liquid and come out quickly.

To deteriorate gradually; fail

To plunge the hand or a receptacle into liquid or a container, especially so as to take something up or out

To sink, as the setting sun.

To withdraw a small amount from a fund

To draw to a gradual close

To drop down or sink out of sight suddenly

To refuse politely

To drop suddenly before climbing. Used of an aircraft.

Downward movement, fall.en

To slope downward; decline

A sloping downward, e.g. of a hill or road.en

To decline slightly and usually temporarily

A weakening.en

(Geology) To lie at an angle to the horizontal plane, as a rock stratum or vein.

A reduction or diminution of activity.

To read here and there at random; browse

The act of declining or refusing something.

To investigate a subject superficially; dabble

(intransitive) To move downwards, to fall, to drop.

(Slang) To steal by picking pockets.

(intransitive) To become weaker or worse.

To place a preparation of finely shredded tobacco in one's mouth.

(transitive) To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall.

A brief plunge or immersion, especially a quick swim.

(transitive) To cause to decrease or diminish.

A liquid into which something is dipped, as for dyeing or disinfecting.

To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw.

A savory creamy mixture into which crackers, raw vegetables, or other foods may be dipped.

(transitive) To choose not to do something; refuse, forbear, refrain.

An amount taken up by dipping.

To inflect for case, number, gender, and the like.

A container for dipping.

To recite all the different declined forms of (a word).

A candle made by repeated dipping in tallow or wax.

(by extension) To run through from first to last; to recite in order as though declining a noun.

A downward slope; a decline.

To reject a penalty against the opposing team, usually because the result of accepting it would benefit the non-penalized team less than the preceding play.

A sharp downward course; a drop

To bend, or lean downward; to take a downward direction; to bend over or hang down, as from weakness, weariness, despondency, etc.; to condescend.

(Geology) The downward inclination of a rock stratum or vein in reference to the plane of the horizon.

To tend or draw towards a close, decay, or extinction; to tend to a less perfect state; to become diminished or impaired; to fail; to sink; to diminish; to lessen; as, the day declines; virtue declines; religion declines; business declines.

(Linguistics) A part of a phrase or sentence that is unstressed or less strongly stressed relative to surrounding words, as the words I and to in I have to go.

To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw; as, a line that declines from straightness; conduct that declines from sound morals.

The unstressed portion of a metrical foot.

To turn away; to shun; to refuse; - the opposite of accept or consent; as, he declined, upon principle.

Magnetic dip.

To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall.

A hollow or depression.

To cause to decrease or diminish.

(Sports) A gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the body is lowered by bending the elbows until the chin reaches the level of the bars and then is raised by straightening the arms.

To put or turn aside; to turn off or away from; to refuse to undertake or comply with; reject; to shun; to avoid; as, to decline an offer; to decline a contest; he declined any participation with them.

(Slang) A pickpocket.

To inflect, or rehearse in order the changes of grammatical form of; as, to decline a noun or an adjective.

(Slang) A foolish or stupid person.

To run through from first to last; to repeat like a schoolboy declining a noun.

A preparation of finely shredded tobacco, usually placed between the lower lip and gum. Also called snuff.

A falling off; a tendency to a worse state; diminution or decay; deterioration; also, the period when a thing is tending toward extinction or a less perfect state; as, the decline of life; the decline of strength; the decline of virtue and religion.

A lower section of a road or geological feature.

That period of a disorder or paroxysm when the symptoms begin to abate in violence; as, the decline of a fever.

Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line; slope; pitch.

A gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical faculties; any wasting disease, esp. pulmonary consumption; as, to die of a decline.

The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid.

Change toward something smaller or lower

A tank or trough where cattle or sheep are immersed in chemicals to kill parasites.

A condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state

A dip stick.

A gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current

A swim, usually a short swim to refresh.

A downward slope or bend

A pickpocket.

Grow worse;

A sauce for dipping.

Refuse to accept;

(geology) The angle from horizontal of a planar geologic surface, such as a fault line.

Show unwillingness towards;

(archaic) A dipped candle.

Grow smaller;

(dance) A move in many different styles of partner dances, often performed at the end of a dance, in which the follower leans far to the side and is supported by the leader.

Go down;

(bodybuilding) A gymnastic or bodybuilding exercise on parallel bars in which the performer, resting on his hands, lets his arms bend and his body sink until his chin is level with the bars, and then raises himself by straightening his arms.

Go down in value;

(turpentine industry) The viscid exudation that is dipped out from incisions in the trees. Virgin dip is the runnings of the first year, yellow dip the runnings of subsequent years.

Inflect for number, gender, case, etc.,

(aeronautics) A sudden drop followed by a climb, usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting into an airhole.

(uncountable) The moist form of snuff tobacco.

The act of missing out on seeing a sought after bird.

Fried bread.

A financial asset in decline, seen as an investment opportunity.

(informal) A foolish person.

(informal) A diplomat.

(transitive) To lower into a liquid.

(intransitive) To immerse oneself; to become plunged in a liquid; to sink.

(intransitive) (of a value or rate) To decrease slightly.

(transitive) To lower a light's beam.

(transitive) To lower (a flag), particularly a national ensign, to a partially hoisted position in order to render or to return a salute. While lowered, the flag is said to be “at the dip.” A flag being carried on a staff may be dipped by leaning it forward at an approximate angle of 45 degrees.

(transitive) To treat cattle or sheep by immersion in chemical solution.

(transitive) To use a dip stick to check oil level in an engine.

To consume snuff by placing a pinch behind the lip or under the tongue so that the active chemical constituents of the snuff may be absorbed into the system for their narcotic effect.

(transitive) To immerse for baptism.

(transitive) To wet, as if by immersing; to moisten.

(intransitive) To plunge or engage thoroughly in any affair.

(transitive) To take out, by dipping a dipper, ladle, or other receptacle, into a fluid and removing a part; often with out.

(intransitive) To perform the action of plunging a dipper, ladle. etc. into a liquid or soft substance and removing a part.

(transitive) To engage as a pledge; to mortgage.

(transitive) To perform (a bow or curtsey) by inclining the body.

(intransitive) To incline downward from the plane of the horizon.

To perform a dip dance move (often phrased with the leader as the subject noun and the follower as the subject noun being dipped)

To lower the body by bending the knees while keeping the body in an upright position, as in movement to the rhythm of music.

To leave.

To miss out on seeing a sought after bird.

To plunge or immerse; especially, to put for a moment into a liquid; to insert into a fluid and withdraw again.

To immerse for baptism; to baptize by immersion.

To wet, as if by immersing; to moisten.

To plunge or engage thoroughly in any affair.

To take out, by dipping a dipper, ladle, or other receptacle, into a fluid and removing a part; - often with out; as, to dip water from a boiler; to dip out water.

To engage as a pledge; to mortgage.

To immerse one's self; to become plunged in a liquid; to sink.

To perform the action of plunging some receptacle, as a dipper, ladle. etc.; into a liquid or a soft substance and removing a part.

To pierce; to penetrate; - followed by in or into.

To enter slightly or cursorily; to engage one's self desultorily or by the way; to partake limitedly; - followed by in or into.

To incline downward from the plane of the horizon; as, strata of rock dip.

To dip snuff.

The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid.

Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line; slope; pitch.

A hollow or depression in a surface, especially in the ground.

A liquid, as a sauce or gravy, served at table with a ladle or spoon.

A dipped candle.

A gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the performer, resting on his hands, lets his arms bend and his body sink until his chin is level with the bars, and then raises himself by straightening his arms.

In the turpentine industry, the viscid exudation, which is dipped out from incisions in the trees; as, virgin dip (the runnings of the first year), yellow dip (the runnings of subsequent years).

A sudden drop followed by a climb, usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting into an airhole.

A liquid, in which objects are soaked by dipping; e.g., a parasiticide or insecticide solution into which animals are dipped (see sheep-dip).

A sauce into which foods are dipped to enhance the flavor; e. g., an onion dip made from sour cream and dried onions, into which potato chips are dipped.

A pickpocket.

A depression in an otherwise level surface;

(physics) the angle that a magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon

A thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places

Tasty mixture or liquid into which bite-sized foods are dipped

A brief immersion

A sudden sharp decrease in some quantity;

A candle that is made by repeated dipping in a pool of wax or tallow

A brief swim in water

A gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the body is lowered and raised by bending and straightening the arms

Immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate;

Dip into a liquid while eating;

Go down momentarily;

Stain an object by immersing it in a liquid

Switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam

Lower briefly;

Appear to move downward;

Slope downwards;

Dip into a liquid;

Of candles; by dipping the wick into hot, liquid wax

Immerse in a disinfectant solution;

Scoop up by plunging one's hand or a ladle below the surface;