sop
/sɒp/ (bre, ipa) · [sˈɑp] /sɑːp/ (ame, ipa) · [sˈɑp] /ˈsäp/ (ame, mw)
sop — noun
- sopsingular
- sopsplural
1. a small thing you give to angry or upset people so they stop complaining, even t
a small thing you give to angry or upset people so they stop complaining, even though it does not really fix the problem.
The free coffee was just a sop to passengers whose flight was delayed for hours.
a sop to someone (the people you try to calm)
Critics called the small pay rise a sop to nurses who wanted far better wages.
a sop to + group being placated
The new park was a sop to local families angry about the noisy new factory.
The manager handed out free pens as a cheap sop to the underpaid warehouse staff.
The mayor planted a few trees as a sop to families living beside the dump.
- concession
more neutral; something given up to settle an argument, without the 'too small to matter' hint
- bribe
stronger and clearly dishonest; a sop is offered openly, a bribe is hidden
文法句型
a sop to someone
a sop to something
用法筆記
Often followed by 'to' plus the person or group being calmed. Carries a critical tone — the speaker usually thinks the gift is too small or not sincere.
常見錯誤
2. a piece of bread or other solid food that you soak in soup, sauce, or another li
a piece of bread or other solid food that you soak in soup, sauce, or another liquid before eating it.
Yuki tore off a sop of bread and pushed it into the warm tomato soup.
a sop of bread (the dipped piece)
The old recipe ends with a soft sop of bread resting in warm milk.
Each child was handed a sop of cake that had been dipped in sweet tea.
At the table, Caleb fished a dripping sop of bread out of the gravy.
A single sop of stale bread floated in the bowl of thin onion broth.
- dipper
informal; a piece of food meant for dipping, used in everyday speech where 'sop' would sound old
文法句型
a sop of bread
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (a calming gift): this is a literal food sense and almost always names a food plus the liquid it sits in. It is old-fashioned and rare in modern English.
sop — verb
- soppresent simple I / you / we / they
- sops3rd person singular
- sopping-ing form
- soppedpast simple
1. to put a piece of food or cloth into a liquid for a moment so that it takes the
to put a piece of food or cloth into a liquid for a moment so that it takes the liquid in.
Ritu sopped a corner of bread in the spicy curry and ate it slowly.
sop something in something
The cook sopped a clean rag in warm water to wipe down the messy stove.
sop + cloth + in liquid
At dinner, Caio sopped the last crust in the rich brown gravy on his plate.
Noa sopped a thick slice of bread in the green olive oil on the plate.
Pim sopped a flat sponge in the bucket and started cleaning the kitchen floor.
- dip
more common and shorter; 'dip' is quick, 'sop' suggests the food sits long enough to take in liquid
文法句型
sop something in something
sop up something
用法筆記
Object is usually bread, cloth, or a sponge; the liquid follows 'in'. Often appears as 'sop up' when the point is to soak liquid off a surface.
常見錯誤
2. to make something completely wet, or to become completely wet, so that the liqui
to make something completely wet, or to become completely wet, so that the liquid goes all the way through it.
Heavy rain sopped the campers' tents until water dripped from the inside walls.
X sopped Y (made Y fully wet)
By the time Christopher reached his car, the storm had sopped his thin jacket.
The spilled bucket sopped the carpet, leaving a wide dark patch on the floor.
Sweat had sopped through the runner's shirt by the end of the long race.
The towels lay sopped on the bathroom floor after the bathtub overflowed.
- dry
to remove all the liquid instead of adding it
文法句型
be sopped with something
sop through something
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (a brief dip): here the thing ends up fully soaked, not just touched to a liquid. Frequently passive ('be sopped') or with 'through'.