"dip one's toe in" meaning in English

See dip one's toe in in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Forms: dips one's toe in [present, singular, third-person], dipping one's toe in [participle, present], dipped one's toe in [participle, past], dipped one's toe in [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} dip one's toe in (third-person singular simple present dips one's toe in, present participle dipping one's toe in, simple past and past participle dipped one's toe in)
  1. (idiomatic, figuratively) To explore or begin; to enter or get involved in tentatively and for the first time. Tags: figuratively, idiomatic Synonyms: dip one's toe into, dip one's toes in, dip one's toes into, dip a toe in, dip a toe into Related terms: dip one's toe in the water Translations (begin to explore, get involved): παίρνω το βάπτισμα του πυρός (paírno to váptisma tou pyrós) (Greek), dar os primeiros passos (Portuguese), pegar a manha (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-dip_one's_toe_in-en-verb-jdOOwJiv Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for dip one's toe in meaning in English (2.6kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dips one's toe in",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dipping one's toe in",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dipped one's toe in",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dipped one's toe in",
      "tags": [
        "past"
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "dip one's toe in (third-person singular simple present dips one's toe in, present participle dipping one's toe in, simple past and past participle dipped one's toe in)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
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          "source": "w"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2019 June 14, Gwilym Mumford, Hannah Verdier, Max Sanderson, Josh Toussaint-Strauss, “A gripping, intimate account of the moon landing – podcasts of the week”, in The Guardian",
          "text": "Given how many other politicians, from Ed Miliband to Bill Clinton, have dipped their toes into the world of podcasting, it’s perhaps inevitable that Barack and Michelle Obama are entering the field too.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 December 17, Hannah Sayle, “Beloved St. Paul craft beer bar Happy Gnome is closing”, in Star Tribune",
          "text": "The Happy Gnome, on Selby Av. in St. Paul, became a place to dip one's toe in the burgeoning beer world. With a focus on domestic craft and quality import beers, this cozy bar was a welcome home to curious beer lovers.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To explore or begin; to enter or get involved in tentatively and for the first time."
      ],
      "id": "en-dip_one's_toe_in-en-verb-jdOOwJiv",
      "links": [
        [
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        [
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        [
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        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, figuratively) To explore or begin; to enter or get involved in tentatively and for the first time."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "dip one's toe in the water"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "dip one's toe into"
        },
        {
          "word": "dip one's toes in"
        },
        {
          "word": "dip one's toes into"
        },
        {
          "word": "dip a toe in"
        },
        {
          "word": "dip a toe into"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "paírno to váptisma tou pyrós",
          "sense": "begin to explore, get involved",
          "word": "παίρνω το βάπτισμα του πυρός"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "begin to explore, get involved",
          "word": "dar os primeiros passos"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "begin to explore, get involved",
          "word": "pegar a manha"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "dip one's toe in"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dips one's toe in",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dipping one's toe in",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dipped one's toe in",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dipped one's toe in",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "dip one's toe in (third-person singular simple present dips one's toe in, present participle dipping one's toe in, simple past and past participle dipped one's toe in)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "dip one's toe in the water"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2019 June 14, Gwilym Mumford, Hannah Verdier, Max Sanderson, Josh Toussaint-Strauss, “A gripping, intimate account of the moon landing – podcasts of the week”, in The Guardian",
          "text": "Given how many other politicians, from Ed Miliband to Bill Clinton, have dipped their toes into the world of podcasting, it’s perhaps inevitable that Barack and Michelle Obama are entering the field too.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 December 17, Hannah Sayle, “Beloved St. Paul craft beer bar Happy Gnome is closing”, in Star Tribune",
          "text": "The Happy Gnome, on Selby Av. in St. Paul, became a place to dip one's toe in the burgeoning beer world. With a focus on domestic craft and quality import beers, this cozy bar was a welcome home to curious beer lovers.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To explore or begin; to enter or get involved in tentatively and for the first time."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "explore",
          "explore"
        ],
        [
          "begin",
          "begin"
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        [
          "involved",
          "involved"
        ],
        [
          "tentatively",
          "tentatively"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, figuratively) To explore or begin; to enter or get involved in tentatively and for the first time."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "dip one's toe into"
    },
    {
      "word": "dip one's toes in"
    },
    {
      "word": "dip one's toes into"
    },
    {
      "word": "dip a toe in"
    },
    {
      "word": "dip a toe into"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "paírno to váptisma tou pyrós",
      "sense": "begin to explore, get involved",
      "word": "παίρνω το βάπτισμα του πυρός"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "begin to explore, get involved",
      "word": "dar os primeiros passos"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "begin to explore, get involved",
      "word": "pegar a manha"
    }
  ],
  "word": "dip one's toe in"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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