Standard Lemma guide

trickle

noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈtɹɪkəl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪkəl
  • CMU ARPABET: T R IH1 K AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A very thin river.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The brook had shrunk to a mere trickle.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A very thin flow; the sound of such a flow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The tap of the washbasin in my bedroom is leaking and the trickle drives me mad at night.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • The doctor trickled some iodine on the wound.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • Here the water just trickles along, but later it becomes a torrent.
  • The film was so bad that people trickled out of the cinema before its end.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To move or roll slowly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

flowing in drops; the formation and falling of drops of liquid

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • there's a drip through the roof

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: drip, dribble

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: flow, flowing

Narrower terms: intravenous drip

7

verb

Meaning 7

run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • water trickled onto the lawn from the broken hose
  • reports began to dribble in

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dribble, filter

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: run, flow, feed, course

Narrower terms: leach, percolate

History

Etymology

From Middle English triklen, likely a rebracketing (e.g. teres strikled > teerys trikled (“tears trickled”)) of Middle English striklen (“to trickle”), equivalent to strike + -le. For other similar cases of incorrect division, see also apron, daffodil, newt, nickname, orange, umpire.

Across languages

Translations

86 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Esperanto: rivereto — a very thin river
  • Finnish: puro — a very thin river
  • French: filet — a very thin river
  • German: Rinnsal — a very thin river
  • Northern Kurdish: robar — a very thin river
  • Russian: ручеёк (ručejók) — a very thin river
  • Slovak: stružka — a very thin river
  • Slovak: jarok — a very thin river
  • Spanish: riachuelo — a very thin river
  • Ukrainian: струмочок (strumočok) — a very thin river
  • Bulgarian: капене (kapene) — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Czech: pramínek — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Czech: čůrek — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Esperanto: flueto — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Finnish: noro — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • French: dégoulinade — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • German: Tröpfeln — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • German: Getröpfel — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Irish: silín — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Italian: gocciolio — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Italian: sgocciolio — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Northern Kurdish: herik — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Russian: стру́йка (strújka) — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Slovak: pramienok — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Spanish: chorreo — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Spanish: chiringuito — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Spanish: goteo — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Spanish: instilación — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Swedish: droppande — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Ukrainian: цівка (civka) — a very thin flow; the act of trickling
  • Bulgarian: капя (kapja) — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Esperanto: gute verŝi — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Finnish: valuttaa — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Finnish: noruttaa — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • French: verser goutte à goutte — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • German: tröpfeln — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • German: träufeln — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Gujarati: ટપકવું (ṭapakvũ) — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Ingrian: valuttaa — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Irish: sil — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Māori: whakamāturu — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Māori: whakamāturuturu — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Persian: چک چک کردن (ček ček kardan) — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Spanish: instilar — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Ukrainian: крапати (krapaty) — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Ukrainian: стікати (stikaty) — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Ukrainian: лити цівкою (lyty civkoju) — to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • Armenian: ծորալ (coral) — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Catalan: rajar — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Catalan: regalimar — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Cornish: devera — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Czech: stékat po kapkách — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Czech: kanout — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Czech: téct čůrkem — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Czech: crčet — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Dutch: druppelen — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Esperanto: gute flui — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Finnish: valua — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Finnish: norua — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • French: dégouliner — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • French: ruisseler — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Galician: pingar — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • German: tröpfeln — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • German: rieseln — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Irish: sil — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Italian: gocciolare — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Italian: sgocciolare — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Latin: stillare — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Manx: sheel — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Māori: koreto — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Māori: kotokoto — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Māori: tohihī — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Māori: māturu — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Māori: māturuturu — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Māori: paheke — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Māori: totō — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Māori: hohō — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Russian: сочи́ться (sočítʹsja) — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Sanskrit: गलति (galati) — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Spanish: chorrear — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Spanish: gotear — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Spanish: instilarse — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Ukrainian: сочитися (sočytysja) — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Ukrainian: точитися (točytysja) — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Ukrainian: текти цівкою (tekty civkoju) — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Vietnamese: chảy nhỏ giọt — to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
Real reading context

trickle in complete knowledge articles