dripping

Everyday

1. Dripping means falling in small drops, or letting drops fall: a dripping tap. tree →
2. Dripping wet means extremely wet. tree →
3. Dripping with something means covered in a lot of it. tree →
4. In British English, dripping is the fat that comes out of meat when it is roasted. tree →

In the lessons

In science, water dripping shows liquids falling under gravity; pupils measure drips from a tap and learn about saving water. In everyday life, you come in dripping wet after rain. Phrases: dripping wet, a dripping tap, dripping with sweat.

Examples

• The tap is dripping; please turn it off. tree →
• I came home dripping wet from the rain. tree →
• Ice cream was dripping down my hand. tree →
• Water was dripping from the roof. tree →
• He was dripping with sweat after the race. tree →
• A dripping tap can waste lots of water. tree →
• Grandma cooked potatoes in beef dripping. tree →
• Dripping with his recent plunge he sat with chattering teeth within his unfired wigwam. tree →

Note

It is the -ing form of drip: double the p (drip, dripping, dripped). In maths, if a tap drips 10 drops a minute, it drips 600 drops in an hour (10 × 60).