Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense trickles, present participle trickling, past tense, past participle trickled
1. verb
When a liquid trickles, or when you trickle it, it flows slowly in very small amounts.
A tear trickled down the old man's cheek. [VERB preposition/adverb]
Trickle water gently over the back of your baby's head. [VERB noun]
The trickling stream glistened in the sunlight. [VERB-ing]
[Also VERB]
Synonyms: dribble, run, drop, stream More Synonyms of trickle
Trickle is also a noun.
There was not so much as a trickle of water. [+ of]
2. verb
When people or things trickle in a particular direction, they move there slowly in small groups or amounts, rather than all together.
Some donations are already trickling in. [VERB adverb/preposition]
Trickle is also a noun.
The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.
More Synonyms of trickle
trickle in British English
(ˈtrɪkəl)
verb
1.
to run or cause to run in thin or slow streams
she trickled the sand through her fingers
2. (intransitive)
to move, go, or pass gradually
the crowd trickled away
noun
3.
a thin, irregular, or slow flow of something
4.
the act of trickling
Derived forms
trickling (ˈtrickling)
adjective
tricklingly (ˈtricklingly)
adverb
trickly (ˈtrickly)
adjective
Word origin
C14: perhaps of imitative origin
trickle in American English
(ˈtrɪkəl)
verb intransitiveWord forms: ˈtrickled or ˈtrickling
1.
to flow slowly in a thin stream or fall in drops
2.
to move, come, go, etc. little by little
the crowd trickled away
verb transitive
3.
to cause to trickle
noun
4.
the act of trickling
5.
a slow, small flow
Word origin
ME triklen < ?
Examples of 'trickle' in a sentence
trickle
Move onion to side, letting oil trickle back, increase heat and brown meat.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Gradually trickle the oil on to the anchovy paste while the processor is still running.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The number of visitors arriving has slowed to a trickle from the mobs of summer.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Yet the trickle of people departing has become an unstoppable flood.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It was a trickle rather than a deluge.
The Sun (2012)
Thousands of pounds are literally trickling away.
The Sun (2011)
Whisk in the oil in a steady trickle.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Slowly whisk while trickling in the sunflower oil.
The Sun (2013)
It needs to be thin enough to trickle easily over the tomatoes.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
He had a hole in the wall of his heart so blood was trickling into his lungs.
The Sun (2014)
Lottery funding of cultural projects has slowed to a trickle.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The news cameras and protestors have trickled away.
Christianity Today (2000)
The rain trickled down his back, and for nearly an hour he stared at the float.
Beatrix Potter The Tales of Beatrix Potter (1930)
I felt all this warm liquid trickle down my face.
The Sun (2009)
A small trickle of blood ran from his bottom lip.
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss THE WOLF AND THE DOVE
Gradually trickle in the olive oil while still blending - this will give a gloss and richness to the soup and balance the acidity.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The liquids trickled down and sometimes I burnt myself.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
At 8.30am people trickle off.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
A stream trickled through a trench lined with transparent PVC.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
I remove my shoes and socks, and make my way to the shore, warm grains of white sand trickling between my toes.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
trickle
British English: trickle VERB
When a liquid trickles, or when you trickle it, it flows slowly in very small amounts.
A tear trickled down the old man's cheek.
American English: trickle
Brazilian Portuguese: gotejar
Chinese: 细流
European Spanish: gotear
French: couler doucementN
German: rinnen
Italian: gocciolare
Japanese: ちょろちょろ流れる
Korean: 액체가 조금 흐르다
European Portuguese: gotejar
Latin American Spanish: gotear
All related terms of 'trickle'
trickle-down
The trickle-down theory is the theory that benefits given to people at the top of a system will eventually be passed on to people lower down the system. For example , if the rich receive tax cuts, they will pass these benefits on to the poor by creating jobs .
trickle charger
a small mains-operated battery charger , esp one that delivers less than 5 amperes and is used by car owners
trickle irrigation
See drip irrigation
trickle bed reactor
A trickle bed reactor is a reactor in which gravity makes a gas and a liquid flow through a bed of catalyst .
trickle-down theory
the theory that granting concessions such as tax cuts to the rich will benefit all levels of society by stimulating the economy
drip irrigation
a system of crop irrigation involving the controlled delivery of water directly to individual plants through a network of tubes or pipes
Chinese translation of 'trickle'
trickle
(ˈtrɪkl)
vi
[water, tears, blood]一滴滴地流 (yī dīdī de liú)
[people, things]相继(繼)走 (xiāngjì zǒu)
n(c)
[of water, blood]细(細)流 (xìliú)
(verb)
Definition
to flow or cause to flow in a thin stream or drops
A tear trickled down his cheek.
Synonyms
dribble
Sweat dribbled down his face.
run
I excused myself and ran back to the telephone.
drop
He felt hot tears dropping onto his fingers.
stream
creep
crawl
I began to crawl on my hands and knees towards the door.
drip
a cloth that dripped pink drops upon the floor
ooze
Blood was still oozing from the wound.
seep
Radioactive water had seeped into underground reservoirs.
exude
the fluid that exudes from the cane toad's back
percolate
Water cannot percolate through the clay.
(noun)
Definition
a thin, irregular, or slow flow of something
There was not so much as a trickle of water.
Synonyms
dribble
Apply a dribble of shampoo.
drip
Drips of water rolled down his uniform.
seepage
thin stream
Additional synonyms
in the sense of crawl
Definition
to move very slowly
I began to crawl on my hands and knees towards the door.
Synonyms
creep,
slither,
go on all fours,
move on hands and knees,
inch,
drag,
wriggle,
writhe,
move at a snail's pace,
worm your way,
advance slowly,
pull or drag yourself along
in the sense of drip
Definition
to fall or let fall in drops
a cloth that dripped pink drops upon the floor
Synonyms
drop,
splash,
sprinkle,
trickle,
dribble,
exude,
drizzle,
plop
in the sense of drip
Definition
a drop of liquid
Drips of water rolled down his uniform.
Synonyms
drop,
bead,
trickle,
dribble,
droplet,
globule,
pearl,
driblet
Synonyms of 'trickle'
trickle
Explore 'trickle' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of drop
He felt hot tears dropping onto his fingers.
Synonyms
drip,
run,
flow,
leak,
trickle,
dribble,
drizzle,
fall in drops
in the sense of exude
Definition
(of a liquid or smell) to seep or flow out slowly and steadily
the fluid that exudes from the cane toad's back
Synonyms
seep,
leak,
sweat,
bleed,
weep,
trickle,
ooze,
emanate,
issue,
filter through,
well forth
in the sense of ooze
Definition
to flow or leak out slowly
Blood was still oozing from the wound.
Synonyms
seep,
well,
drop,
escape,
strain,
leak,
drain,
sweat,
filter,
bleed,
weep,
drip,
trickle,
leach,
dribble,
percolate
in the sense of percolate
Definition
to pass or filter through very small holes
Water cannot percolate through the clay.
Synonyms
seep,
strain,
drain,
filter,
penetrate,
drip,
leach,
ooze,
pervade,
permeate,
filtrate
in the sense of run
Definition
to move on foot at a rapid pace
I excused myself and ran back to the telephone.
Synonyms
race,
speed,
rush,
dash,
hurry,
career,
barrel (along) (informal, US, Canadian),
sprint,
scramble,
bolt,
dart,
gallop,
hare (British, informal),
jog,
scud,
hasten,
scurry,
stampede,
scamper,
leg it (informal),
lope,
hie,
hotfoot
in the sense of seep
Definition
to leak through slowly
Radioactive water had seeped into underground reservoirs.