1
chiefly dialectal
: a piece of food dipped or steeped in a liquid
2
: a conciliatory or propitiatory bribe, gift, or gesture
standard operating procedure; standing operating procedure
Synonyms
Examples of sop in a Sentence
Noun
as a sop to the teachers' union for supporting his reelection campaign, the mayor promised to push for the abolition of the residency requirement
Verb
sopped the sponge with the detergent and began scrubbing the floor vigorously
my book fell in the swimming pool and was thoroughly sopped before I could fish it out
Recent Examples on the Web
Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2024
Some Republicans are portraying the continuation of subsidies as a sop to health insurers.
—Peter Sullivan, Axios, 14 Aug. 2024
Alec Lewis, The Athletic, 2 Aug. 2024
Keith sees that the cockpit floor is sopping wet since Emma just rinsed it in her last hour.
—Emma Soren, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sop 
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Noun
But these are just MacGuffins: sops to the Beltway superfans.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2024
Some Republicans are portraying the continuation of subsidies as a sop to health insurers.
—Peter Sullivan, Axios, 14 Aug. 2024
Verb
Here was a player listed at 6-foot-1 and 187 pounds — and, to be clear, Reichard isn’t anywhere near 187 pounds sopping wet — flexing atop a much larger returner.
—Alec Lewis, The Athletic, 2 Aug. 2024
Keith sees that the cockpit floor is sopping wet since Emma just rinsed it in her last hour.
—Emma Soren, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sop
Dictionary Entries Near sop
Cite this Entry
“Sop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sop. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sop
1 of 2 noun1
chiefly dialect
: a piece of food dipped or soaked in a liquid (as bread dipped in milk or gravy)
2
: a bribe or gift for soothing or winning approval
sop
2 of 2 verb
sopped; sopping
1
a
: to soak or dip in or as if in liquid
b
: to wet thoroughly
2
: to mop or soak up
sopping up gravy with bread
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