What does dripping mean?
Dripping is most familiar today as a noun meaning the melted fat that runs off roasting meat, prized especially in British cooking where it is used to fry potatoes or spread on bread — a once-humble staple now revived by chefs seeking deep savoury flavour. The word equally serves as the present participle of the verb "to drip," describing liquid falling in small drops, whether from a leaking tap, rain-soaked clothing, or melting ice. Figuratively, "dripping with" conveys abundance or saturation of an abstract quality, as in "a voice dripping with sarcasm." Derived from the Old English verb dropian, meaning to fall in drops, it belongs to a family of watery words stretching back through Germanic languages. Versatile across literal and figurative registers, dripping captures both a cooking tradition and the simple physics of falling water, making it a word at once homely, vivid, and enduringly useful.
Fat that has melted and dripped from roasted meat, collected and used for cooking or spreading on bread.
"Grandmother always kept a jar of dripping by the stove for frying."
Chiefly British; Americans more often say "drippings."
The act or sound of liquid falling in drops.
"The steady dripping of the tap kept him awake all night."
Present participle of drip: to fall or let fall in drops.
"Rain was dripping from the eaves long after the storm had passed."
Extremely wet; saturated with liquid, or (figuratively) excessively full of a quality.
"He stood on the porch, dripping wet after the downpour."
The plural "drippings" refers collectively to the rendered fat and juices left in a pan after cooking meat, and is the standard form in American English.
"Pour off the drippings before making the gravy."
In Britain, dripping — the fat left over from a Sunday roast — was once so prized that children spread it on bread as a treat, a humble delicacy now enjoying a gourmet revival.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dripping
Dripping derives from the Middle English verb drippen, itself from Old English dropian, meaning to fall in drops, which is related to the noun drop. The word shares its Germanic roots with cognates such as Dutch druppelen and German triefen. The culinary sense referring to melted meat fat developed in English by the early modern period and remains strongly associated with British cuisine.
Related word forms
How dripping is actually used
The culinary noun sense is chiefly British, though understood elsewhere; in American English the plural "drippings" is more common for pan fat. The figurative use "dripping with X" is informal but widespread.
Easily confused with dripping
"Dropping" means falling or letting something fall, while "dripping" specifically refers to falling in drops of liquid, or to melted fat.