tipple

1 of 3

verb

tip·​ple ˈti-pəl 

tippled; tippling ˈti-p(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

: to drink liquor especially by habit or to excess

transitive verb

: to drink (liquor) especially continuously in small amounts

tippler

ˈti-p(ə-)lər 

noun

tipple

2 of 3

noun (1)

1

: drink sense 1

2

: drink sense 2

tipple

3 of 3

noun (2)

1

: a place where or an apparatus by which cars (as for coal) are loaded or emptied

2

: a coal-screening plant

Synonyms

Verb

• bib
• booze
• drink
• guzzle
• liquor (up)
• lush (up) [slang]
• soak

Noun (1)

• alcohol
• aqua vitae
• ardent spirits
• booze
• bottle
• drink
• firewater
• grog
• hooch [slang]
• inebriant
• intoxicant
• John Barleycorn
• juice [slang]
• liquor
• lush [slang]
• moonshine
• potable
• rum
• sauce [slang]
• spirits
• stimulant
• strong drink

Examples of tipple in a Sentence

Verb

I do tipple now and then.

Noun (1)

a single-malt Scotch with a touch of water is his preferred tipple

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

People have been tippling there for more than four hundred years, and the wine list has the heft—and the persuasive majesty—of a Gutenberg Bible. —Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024

The legendary Doyle’s in Jamaica Plain, for example, which dated back to the 1880s and for years was a place where the political class tippled, is no more. —Danny McDonald, BostonGlobe.com, 4 May 2023

Noun

With items like party wings tossed in a Georgia peach and habanero sauce and juicy roasted hen with collard greens paired with timely tipples such as The First Snow (spiced rum, hazelnut liqueur, double spiced chai tea, cinnamon and heavy cream), travel day is downright tranquil. —Demarco Williams, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025

There are plenty of bars nearby for an after-dinner tipple. —Jaymi McCann, theweek, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

back-formation from obsolete tippler alehouse keeper, from Middle English tipler

Noun (2)

English dialect tipple to tip over, frequentative of English tip entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1560, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (1)

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

tipple

verb

tip·​ple

ˈtip-əl

tippled; tippling

-(ə-)liŋ

: to drink liquor especially by habit

tippler

-(ə-)lər

noun