dip // verb, noun

■ verb [no obj] (-pp-) dip (from sth) (to/below sth)

to go down in value or level, especially by a small amount or for a short period of time:

Sales of furniture have started to dip.

Profits dipped slightly to $5.4 million from $5.7 million.

The share price dipped 4.5%.

Inflation could dip below the 2% level.

There are fears that the economy could dip back into recession.

IDIOMS

dip into your pocket (informal)

to spend some of your money on sth:

Online holiday shoppers are expected to dip into their pockets more this year.

She was forced to dip into her own pocket to pay for the repairs.

dip a toe in/into sth; dip a toe in/into the water

to start doing sth very carefully to see if it will be successful or not:

Some investors are now prepared to dip a toe in riskier markets.

PHRASAL VERBS

dip into sth

to take an amount from money that has been saved:

The government has had to dip into emergency funds.

We took out a loan for the car because we didn't want to dip into our savings.

■ noun [C]

DOUBLE-DIP

a decrease in the amount or success of sth, usually for only a short period:

They reported a 5% dip in profits from £8.1 million to £7.7 million.

The survey reveals a slight dip in consumer confidence.

I always try to buy on the dips (= buy shares, bonds, etc. when prices fall).

The index recovered after an initial dip to 3 580 points.

a big/brief/sharp/slight/small/ an unexpected dip

• rejuvenate
• rekey
• relapse
• relate
• related
• related company
• related party
• relations
• relationship
• relationship manager
• relationship marketing
• relatively
• relaunch
• relax
• release
• reliable
• reliance
• relief
• relieve
• relocate
• remainder
• remarket
• remedy
• reminder
• remission