trickle

1 of 2

verb

trick·​le ˈtri-kəl 

trickled; trickling ˈtri-k(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

a

: to issue or fall in drops

b

: to flow in a thin gentle stream

2

a

: to move or go one by one or little by little

customers began to trickle in

b

: to dissipate slowly

his enthusiasm trickled away

trickle

2 of 2

noun

: a thin, slow, or intermittent stream or movement

Synonyms

Verb

• distill
• distil
• dribble
• drip
• drop

Examples of trickle in a Sentence

Verb

Tears trickled down her cheeks.

Water was trickling out of the gutter.

People trickled into the theater.

Donations have been trickling in.

Noun

We heard the trickle of water from the roof.

The flow of water slowed to a trickle.

Sales have slowed to a trickle in recent weeks.

A slow trickle of customers came into the store throughout the day.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Lowering corporate income taxes has never actually trickled down to wage earners, or even investment in new factories, as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities noted in a recent study. —Peter Green, Quartz, 9 Nov. 2024

The gains also trickled down to the Russell 2000 index, which represents smaller companies. —Rob Wile, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2024

Noun

The number of migrants arriving in Denver has slowed to a trickle since the Biden administration cracked down on the number of asylum seekers entering the country. —Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 4 Nov. 2024

In this film, trauma trickles down through the generations, but not in the obvious or pat ways that descendants of survivors have captured it before. —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English trikelen, of imitative origin

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1580, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing trickle

• trickle-down
• trickle-down theory

Kids Definition

trickle

verb

trick·​le

ˈtrik-əl

trickled; trickling

-(ə-)liŋ

1

a

: to flow or fall in drops

water trickling from a leaky faucet

b

: to flow in a thin slow stream

syrup trickling from the bottle

2

a

: to move or go one by one or little by little

customers trickled in

b

: to slowly grow less

his excitement trickled away

trickle noun