dope

[ dohp ]
See synonyms for: dopedopeddoping on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. any thick liquid or pasty preparation, as a lubricant, used in preparing a surface.

  2. an absorbent material used to absorb and hold a liquid, as in the manufacture of dynamite.

  1. Aeronautics.

    • any of various varnishlike products for coating a fabric, as of airplane wings, in order to make it waterproof, stronger, etc.

    • a similar product used to coat the fabric of a balloon to reduce gas leakage.

  2. Slang.

    • any narcotic or narcoticlike drug taken to induce euphoria or satisfy addiction.

    • any illicit drug.

    • a drug, as a steroid, given to an athlete to boost athletic performance.

    • a narcotic or other drug given surreptitiously to a horse to improve or retard its performance in a race.

  3. Slang. information, data, or news: What's the latest dope on the strike?

  4. Informal. a stupid or unresponsive person.

  5. Southern U.S. (chiefly South Atlantic States). a carbonated, flavored, and sweetened drink, especially cola-flavored; soda pop.

  6. North Central U.S. (chiefly Ohio). syrup used as a topping for ice cream.

verb (used with object),doped, dop·ing.
  1. Slang.

    • to affect with dope or drugs (usually followed by up or out): I was so doped up that I couldn't remember a thing.

    • to add a narcotic or other drug to:My brother doped my food as a prank.

    • to give a drug to (an athlete or horse), so as to affect performance in a race or other competition.

  2. to apply or treat with dope: In the winter, we doped the fabric of the airplanes in the hangar.

  1. Electronics. to add or treat (a pure semiconductor) with a dopant.

verb (used without object),doped, dop·ing.
  1. Slang. to take drugs: He only dopes on weekends—or so he says.

adjective
  1. Slang. great; excellent: His band is so dope!

Verb Phrases
  1. dope out, Slang. to figure out; work out: to dope out a plan;to dope out a solution to a problem.

Origin of dope

1
First recorded in 1840–50; from Dutch doop (dialect) “sauce,” derivative of dopen “to dip, baptize”; cf. deep, dip1

regional variation note For dope

7. See soda pop.

Other words from dope

  • un·doped, adjective

Words Nearby dope

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dope in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dope

dope

/ (dəʊp) /


noun
  1. any of a number of preparations made by dissolving cellulose derivatives in a volatile solvent, applied to fabric in order to improve strength, tautness, etc

  2. an additive used to improve the properties of something, such as an antiknock compound added to petrol

  1. a thick liquid, such as a lubricant, applied to a surface

  2. a combustible absorbent material, such as sawdust or wood pulp, used to hold the nitroglycerine in dynamite

  3. slang

    • any illegal drug, usually cannabis

    • (as modifier): a dope fiend

  4. a drug administered to a racehorse or greyhound to affect its performance

  5. informal a person considered to be stupid or slow-witted

  6. informal news or facts, esp confidential information

  7. US and Canadian informal a photographic developing solution

verb(tr)
  1. electronics to add impurities to (a semiconductor) in order to produce or modify its properties

  2. to apply or add a dopant to

  1. to administer a drug to (oneself or another)

  2. (intr) to take dope

adjective
  1. slang, mainly US excellent

Origin of dope

1
C19: from Dutch doop sauce, from doopen to dip

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012