1
informal
: a stupid person
I think fast drivers are dopes.—
Randy Wayne White
Randy Wayne White… people are promised windfall profits from can't-miss investments—to be paid, when they are paid at all, only out of money collected from subsequent dopes and dupes.—David Margolick
David Margolick2
informal
a
: an illicit drug (such as heroin or cocaine) used for its intoxicating or euphoric effects
b
: a preparation (such as an anabolic steroid, diuretic, or tranquilizer) given to a racehorse to help or hinder its performance
3
informal
: information especially from a reliable source
the inside dope on a celebrity's new romance
4
a
: a thick liquid or pasty preparation
Apply a small amount of pipe dope or Teflon tape to the threads of the adapter …—Michael J. McGroarty
Michael J. McGroarty
b
: a preparation for giving a desired quality to a substance or surface
She … would also glue the canvas over the frames of the planes and then use "dope," a special type of lacquer to harden the body of the plane.—The Washington (Indiana) Times-Herald
The Washington (Indiana) Times-Herald
c
: absorbent or adsorbent material used in various manufacturing processes (such as the making of dynamite)
A dynamite's strength and its water resistance are determined by the dopes—the particular dry ingredients that are combined with the nitroglycerin.—Bryan Di Salvatore
Bryan Di Salvatore5
chiefly Southern US
: a cola drink
doped; doping
1
informal
a
: to give a narcotic or intoxicating drug to
It was only when doped with scopolamine that he got any rest.—Robert McAlmon and Kay Boyle
Robert McAlmon and Kay Boyle
b
: to surreptitiously put a sedating drug into
What does the murder have to do with the phone-date service he was investigating when someone doped his drink?—Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn Stasio
c
: to administer a drug to (a horse) to help or hinder performance in a race
Francis rode a doped horse once. The animal … ran right through the first hurdle, throwing Francis, and veered off into the woods nearby, where it was finally captured hours later.—Bill Barich
Bill Barich2
informal
: figure out
—usually used with out
The following day I returned and spent some time trying to dope out the trails the deer was using.—John Weiss
John WeissIt's hard to dope out what, exactly, flavors the lemony, faintly soyish marinade that powers the excellent barbecued chicken …—Sam Sifton
Sam Sifton3
: to treat with dope or a dopant
The airfoil leading edge and ribs are fiberglass moldings, and the skin, as on early airplanes, is fabric doped to drum-tightness.—David Scott
David ScottWe developed a method to dope semiconductor nanocrystals with metal impurities, enabling control of the band gap …—David Mocatta et al.
David Mocatta et al.1
informal
: to take an intoxicating drug
2
informal
: to use a performance-enhancing substance typically banned for use in sports
A week after that surreal scene, Danish hero Bjarne Riis admitted that he'd doped to win the 1996 Tour France Riis …—Austin Murphy
Austin MurphySynonyms
Noun
Verb
- answer
- break
- crack
- figure out
- puzzle (out)
- resolve
- riddle (out)
- solve
- unravel
- unriddle
- work
- work out
Adjective
- A-OK
- A1
- awesome
- bang-up
- banner
- beautiful
- blue-chip
- blue-ribbon
- boffo
- bonny [chiefly British]
- bonnie
- boss [slang]
- brag
- brave
- bully
- bumper
- capital
- choice
- classic
- cool [slang]
- corking
- crackerjack
- cracking
- dandy
- divine
- down [slang]
- dynamite
- excellent
- fab
- fabulous
- famous
- fantabulous [slang]
- fantastic
- fine
- first-class
- first-rate
- first-string
- five-star
- four-star
- frontline
- gangbusters
- gangbuster
- gilt-edged
- gilt-edge
- gone [slang]
- grand
- great
- groovy
- heavenly
- high-class
- hot
- hype [slang]
- immense
- jim-dandy
- keen
- lovely
- marvelous
- marvellous
- mean
- neat
- nifty
- noble
- number one
- No. 1
- numero uno
- out-of-sight [slang]
- par excellence
- peachy
- peachy keen
- phat [slang]
- prime
- primo [slang]
- prize
- prizewinning
- quality
- radical [slang]
- righteous [slang]
- sensational
- slick
- splendid
- stellar
- sterling
- superb
- superior
- superlative
- supernal
- swell
- terrific
- tip-top
- top
- top-notch
- top-of-the-line
- top-shelf
- topflight
- topping [chiefly British]
- unsurpassed
- wizard [chiefly British]
- wonderful
Examples of dope in a Sentence
Noun
They were caught smoking dope.
What a dope he is.
Verb
They tried to dope him.
Adjective
That movie was so dope.
Check out this dope new song.
Recent Examples on the WebMichelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
The agents recruited an undercover informant — a local resident whom Chen paid $2,500 and a pound of dope a month to appear on registration documents and medical marijuana licenses as majority owner of his farms, court records say.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 22 Mar. 2024
The word ‘dope’ has different meanings in different settings.
—Alexis Cubit, The Courier-Journal, 7 Mar. 2024
Total assault on the culture, by any means necessary, including rock ‘n’ roll, dope and f--king in the streets.
—Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2024
Tennessee’s warning shot at the NCAA on Tuesday is like a dope hit for the addiction to conflict that exists within us, especially those of us who spend a lot of time watching college sports.
—Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024
Now, with his new movie, Drive-Away Dolls, Ethan has made a gonzo comedy about dopes with guns chasing cheerful fools around dingy American motels in pursuit of a meaningless bag of loot.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2024
Coached one of my favorite players, Kevin Garnett, as well too, so that’s kind of dope.
—Jim Owczarski, Journal Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2024
And then the second one is when every line was dope.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2024
Jeré Longman, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Valieva, now 17, had led the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to first place in the team event ahead of the US and Japan — before her doping test came back positive for performance-enhancing substance trimetazidine.
—Homero De La Fuente, CNN, 30 Jan. 2024
Like Demus, he was beaten by a Russian athlete later found guilty of doping.
—Jeré Longman, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Before Barry Bonds, before Russia at the Sochi Olympics, before the past four decades of sports doping scandals, there was Don Catlin in his UCLA laboratory.
—Les Carpenter, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2024
The traditional approach to chip fabrication involves doping—a deliberate contamination of the semiconductor material with certain foreign atoms.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Mar. 2024
The Russian team that topped the medals chart in Sochi was later exposed in a doping scandal run by Putin’s security service and banned from all Olympic competition.
—Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2024
Some will be stored in case that medals need to reassigned after the Games, which can happen when medal-winners are subsequently stripped of the prizes for doping.
—John Leicester, USA TODAY, 8 Feb. 2024
Grigory Rodchenkov is seen in the sports doping documentary Icarus.
—Molly Stazicker, CNN, 7 Feb. 2024
EW.com, 14 Jan. 2024
Not too many Black people have even been nominated — let alone won — so being considered is already dope.
—Kenan Draughorne, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024
Those writers are dope and that was not my intention at all.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 11 Jan. 2024
Because some tracks have a dope verse and a really good beat and a great hook, and the song is really dope and that’s cool.
—Evan Minsker, Pitchfork, 29 Aug. 2023
Carl Dixon, and Steve Terrell put a beat underneath my freestyle and composed something really dope.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 11 Aug. 2023
Justin [Lubliner, CEO] at the label was just really dope.
—John Norris, Billboard, 1 Mar. 2023
The bride tries to find the most dramatic place to put that sucker so the wedding pics look dope-as-hell.
—Laura Beck, Cosmopolitan, 11 Sep. 2017
Noun
No dope on college campuses, even if voters give the OK to recreational marijuana.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
The agents recruited an undercover informant — a local resident whom Chen paid $2,500 and a pound of dope a month to appear on registration documents and medical marijuana licenses as majority owner of his farms, court records say.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 22 Mar. 2024
The word ‘dope’ has different meanings in different settings.
—Alexis Cubit, The Courier-Journal, 7 Mar. 2024
Total assault on the culture, by any means necessary, including rock ‘n’ roll, dope and f--king in the streets.
—Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2024
Tennessee’s warning shot at the NCAA on Tuesday is like a dope hit for the addiction to conflict that exists within us, especially those of us who spend a lot of time watching college sports.
—Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024
Now, with his new movie, Drive-Away Dolls, Ethan has made a gonzo comedy about dopes with guns chasing cheerful fools around dingy American motels in pursuit of a meaningless bag of loot.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2024
Coached one of my favorite players, Kevin Garnett, as well too, so that’s kind of dope.
—Jim Owczarski, Journal Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2024
And then the second one is when every line was dope.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2024
Verb
Perhaps most notoriously, six of the top seven finishers in the men’s 94 kilogram (roughly 207 pounds) weight lifting competition at the London Olympics — including all three original medalists — were later disqualified for doping.
—Jeré Longman, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Valieva, now 17, had led the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to first place in the team event ahead of the US and Japan — before her doping test came back positive for performance-enhancing substance trimetazidine.
—Homero De La Fuente, CNN, 30 Jan. 2024
Like Demus, he was beaten by a Russian athlete later found guilty of doping.
—Jeré Longman, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Before Barry Bonds, before Russia at the Sochi Olympics, before the past four decades of sports doping scandals, there was Don Catlin in his UCLA laboratory.
—Les Carpenter, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2024
The traditional approach to chip fabrication involves doping—a deliberate contamination of the semiconductor material with certain foreign atoms.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Mar. 2024
The Russian team that topped the medals chart in Sochi was later exposed in a doping scandal run by Putin’s security service and banned from all Olympic competition.
—Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2024
Some will be stored in case that medals need to reassigned after the Games, which can happen when medal-winners are subsequently stripped of the prizes for doping.
—John Leicester, USA TODAY, 8 Feb. 2024
Grigory Rodchenkov is seen in the sports doping documentary Icarus.
—Molly Stazicker, CNN, 7 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Those writers are dope, and that was not my intention at all.
—EW.com, 14 Jan. 2024
Not too many Black people have even been nominated — let alone won — so being considered is already dope.
—Kenan Draughorne, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024
Those writers are dope and that was not my intention at all.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 11 Jan. 2024
Because some tracks have a dope verse and a really good beat and a great hook, and the song is really dope and that’s cool.
—Evan Minsker, Pitchfork, 29 Aug. 2023
Carl Dixon, and Steve Terrell put a beat underneath my freestyle and composed something really dope.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 11 Aug. 2023
Justin [Lubliner, CEO] at the label was just really dope.
—John Norris, Billboard, 1 Mar. 2023
The bride tries to find the most dramatic place to put that sucker so the wedding pics look dope-as-hell.
—Laura Beck, Cosmopolitan, 11 Sep. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dope.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dope
Cite this Entry
“Dope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dope. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dope
2 of 2 verb
doped; doping
1
: to treat or affect with dope
especially
: to give a narcotic to
2
: find out
—usually used with out
Medical Definition
dope
1 of 2 noun1
a
: a preparation of an illicit, habit-forming, or narcotic drug (as opium, heroin, or marijuana)
b
: a preparation given to a racehorse to help or hinder its performance
2
: a narcotic addict
dope
2 of 2 verb
doped; doping
: to give a narcotic to
: to take dope
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