Dip

Dip refers to a prepared sauce or mixture intended for dipping foods. Culinary dips are typically served with chips, vegetables, bread, or crackers, and can be purchased ready-made or prepared at home. They range from dairy-based varieties such as sour cream or cream cheese dips to bean, yogurt, or mayonnaise-based blends. Common examples include guacamole, salsa, queso dip, spinach-artichoke dip, French onion dip, and tzatziki. Dips may be served hot or cold, and can be smooth or chunky, with flavorings that include herbs, spices, cheese, garlic, or citrus. The term also describes the act of dipping: to briefly immerse a food item into a sauce or beverage.

As a verb, dip means to immerse something briefly into a liquid. It is used in cooking and in everyday language, such as dipping bread into a sauce or dipping a toe into water. The action can serve purposes of flavoring, coating, or testing temperature, and it appears in a wide range of culinary and non-culinary contexts.

In geology, dip denotes the angle at which a planar feature, such as a rock bed or fault plane, inclines from the horizontal. It is measured in degrees and has a corresponding dip direction indicating the compass bearing of the slope. Dip, together with strike, describes the orientation of geological structures and helps in mapping and analysis.

In finance and investing, a dip refers to a short-term decline in the price of an asset or market index. The expression "buy the dip" suggests purchasing during a dip in anticipation of a rebound; the duration and severity vary and can be influenced by market conditions, fundamentals, or external events.