Trickle

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪkÉ™l

Origin

Originally of tears; from strickle, frequentative of to strike, by elision (probably because tears trickle is easier to pronounce than tears strickle).

Full definition of trickle

Noun

1. A very thin river.The brook had shrunk to a mere trickle.
2. A very thin flow; the act of trickling.The tap of the washbasin in my bedroom is leaking and the trickle drives me mad at night.

Verb

1. (transitive) to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuouslyThe doctor trickled some iodine on the wound.
2. (intransitive) to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuouslyHere the water just trickles along, but later it becomes a torrent.The film ws so bad that people trickled out of the cinema before its end.
• 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula Chapter 21Her white night-dress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man's bare chest which was shown by his torn-open dress.
3. (intransitive) To move or roll slowly.
• 2010, December 29, Sam Sheringham, Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton, Their only shot of the first period was a long-range strike from top-scorer Ebanks-Blake which trickled tamely wide.

Anagrams

• tickler