trickle

[trik-uh l] /ˈtrɪk əl/
verb (used without object), trickled, trickling.
1.
to flow or fall by drops, or in a small, gentle stream:
Tears trickled down her cheeks.
2.
to come, go, or pass bit by bit, slowly, or irregularly:
The guests trickled out of the room.
verb (used with object), trickled, trickling.
3.
to cause to trickle.
noun
4.
a trickling flow or stream.
5.
a small, slow, or irregular quantity of anything coming, going, or proceeding:
a trickle of visitors throughout the day.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English triklen, trekelen (v.), apparently sandhi variant of strikle, perhaps equivalent to strike (in obsolete sense “flow”) + -le
Related forms
tricklingly, adverb
Synonyms
4. dribble, seepage, drip.
Examples from the web for trickle
  • Meditation reduces the flow of incoming information to a trickle.
  • They had all seen the graying of the faculty there, and they knew that a steady trickle of retirements was imminent.
  • By dawn, the trickle that began to seep into the neighborhood during the night had become a scalding torrent.
  • Allow a hose to trickle slowly and move it periodically over several hours.
  • Since they were installed, the suicide rate has slowed to a trickle.
  • Sallie may get her diamond encrusted shoes, but the only trickle down involved here is for lobbyists.
  • The trickle of water that joins the two could be gone completely within a few years.
  • Hold the comb near a thin trickle of water from the faucet.
  • The effect of the tax cuts are pretty obvious and obviously didn't trickle down.
  • Gently ladle curds and whey into mold, occasionally pouring out liquid from bowl, until draining slows down to a trickle.
British Dictionary definitions for trickle

trickle

/ˈtrɪkəl/
verb
1.
to run or cause to run in thin or slow streams: she trickled the sand through her fingers
2.
(intransitive) to move, go, or pass gradually: the crowd trickled away
noun
3.
a thin, irregular, or slow flow of something
4.
the act of trickling
Derived Forms
trickling, adjective
tricklingly, adverb
trickly, adjective
Word Origin
C14: perhaps of imitative origin
Word Origin and History for trickle
v.

late 14c., possibly a shortened variant of stricklen "to trickle," a frequentative form of striken "to flow, move" (see strike). Related: Trickled; trickling. Trickle-down as an adjectival phrase in an economic sense first recorded 1944; the image had been in use at least since Teddy Roosevelt.

n.

1570s, from trickle (v.).