Dip vs. Dive — What's the Difference?

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

To plunge, especially headfirst, into water.

To color or dye by immersing

To execute a dive in athletic competition.

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

To participate in the sport of competitive diving.

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

To go toward the bottom of a body of water

To galvanize or plate (metal) by immersion.

To engage in the sport of scuba diving.

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

To submerge under power. Used of a submarine.

To lower and raise (a flag) in salute.

To fall head down through the air.

To lower or drop (something) suddenly

To descend nose down at an acceleration usually exceeding that of free fall. Used of an airplane.

(Slang) To pick the pockets of.

To engage in the sport of skydiving.

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

To drop sharply and rapidly; plummet

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

To rush headlong and vanish into something

To withdraw a small amount from a fund

To plunge one's hand into something

To drop down or sink out of sight suddenly

To lunge or leap headfirst

To drop suddenly before climbing. Used of an aircraft.

To plunge into an activity or enterprise with vigor and gusto.

To slope downward; decline

(Sports) To exaggerate a fall in an attempt to induce a referee to call a penalty on an opponent.

To decline slightly and usually temporarily

To cause (an aircraft, for example) to dive.

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

To go scuba-diving to or along

To read here and there at random; browse

A plunge into water, especially done headfirst and in a way established for athletic competition.

To investigate a subject superficially; dabble

The act or an instance of going under water, as of a submarine or a skin diver.

(Slang) To steal by picking pockets.

A nearly vertical descent at an accelerated speed through the air.

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

A rapid or abrupt decrease

A brief plunge or immersion, especially a quick swim.

(Slang) A disreputable or run-down bar or nightclub.

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

A run-down residence.

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

A knockout feigned by a prizefighter

An amount taken up by dipping.

An exaggerated fall, especially by a hockey player, intended to draw a penalty against an opponent.

A container for dipping.

A lunge or a headlong jump

A candle made by repeated dipping in tallow or wax.

(Football) An offensive play in which the carrier of the ball plunges into the opposing line in order to gain short yardage.

A downward slope; a decline.

(intransitive) To swim under water.

A sharp downward course; a drop

(intransitive) To jump into water head-first.

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

(intransitive) To jump headfirst toward the ground or into another substance.

(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.

(intransitive) To descend sharply or steeply.

The unstressed portion of a metrical foot.

To undertake with enthusiasm.

Magnetic dip.

(sports) To deliberately fall down after a challenge, imitating being fouled, in the hope of getting one's opponent penalised.

A hollow or depression.

(transitive) To cause to descend, dunk; to plunge something into water.

(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.

(transitive) To explore by diving; to plunge into.

(Slang) A pickpocket.

To plunge or to go deeply into any subject, question, business, etc.; to penetrate; to explore.

(Slang) A foolish or stupid person.

A jump or plunge into water.

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

A headfirst jump toward the ground or into another substance.

A lower section of a road or geological feature.

A downward swooping motion.

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

A swim under water.

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

A decline.

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

(slang) A seedy bar, nightclub, etc.

A dip stick.

(aviation) Aerial descent with the nose pointed down.

A swim, usually a short swim to refresh.

(sports) A deliberate fall after a challenge.

A pickpocket.

Plural of diva

A sauce for dipping.

To plunge into water head foremost; to thrust the body under, or deeply into, water or other fluid.

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

Fig.: To plunge or to go deeply into any subject, question, business, etc.; to penetrate; to explore.

(archaic) A dipped candle.

To plunge (a person or thing) into water; to dip; to duck.

(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.

To explore by diving; to plunge into.

(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.

A plunge headforemost into water, the act of one who dives, literally or figuratively.

(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.

A place of low resort.

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

A cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall

(uncountable) The moist form of snuff tobacco.

A headlong plunge into water

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

A steep nose-down descent by an aircraft

Fried bread.

Drop steeply;

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

Plunge into water;

(informal) A foolish person.

Swim under water;

(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;