dipstick
/ˈdɪpstɪk/
dipstick noun: a stick or rod used to measure the depth of a liquid. Often used to check the level at which a liquid in an opaque or inaccessible tank or reservoir stands; gauge.
Noun
dipstick (plural dipsticks)
- A stick or rod used to measure the depth of a liquid. Often used to check the level at which a liquid in an opaque or inaccessible tank or reservoir stands; gauge.
- I haven't checked the oil level of my car's motor since I lost the dipstick three months ago.
- An exciseman or supervisor who measures with a dipstick.
- The penis.
- A useless person of inferior intellect; a dipshit.
- That referee is a right dipstick.
- “Outta the way, dipstick.” He middle-fingered the driver of a Mazda, who was hogging the passing lane, then zipped past, horn blaring, fist raised.2000, Douglas H. Young, chapter 45, in Downsized-Upsized: A Novel, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: New Directions Publishing House, page 311
Verb
dipstick (third-person singular simple present dipsticks, present participle dipsticking, simple past and past participle dipsticked)
- To check (a person) for their understanding of something, as of a lesson, or attitude toward something.
- What most educators mean by “doing Madeline Hunter” is using her seven-step approach to planning a lesson. In Santa Barbara, as in most of her road shows, several hours are devoted to spelling out this technique, which calls for specific acts of review, introduction, explanation, “modeling”...1990 August 12, David L. Kirp, “The classroom according to Hunter”, in Los Angeles Times
- In private, Secretary Powell, an amateur automotive mechanic, complains that old friends spend too much time sympathetically taking his temperature — “dip-sticking me,” as he puts it.2002 July 25, Todd S. Purdum, “Embattled, Scrutinized, Powell Soldiers On”, in The New York Times
- To measure the level of a fluid using a dipstick.
- If one of the fuel gauges is inoperative (flight is not permitted if both have failed), the tanks have to be dipsticked before and after each fueling to confirm the aircraft's fuel status.
Forms of dipstick
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | dipsticks |
| alternative form | dip-stick |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | dipsticks |
| present participle | dipsticking |
| past participle | dipsticked |
| past | dipsticked |
Origin of dipstick
From dip + stick.
Questions about dipstick
- What does dipstick mean?
- Dipstick means a stick or rod used to measure the depth of a liquid. Often used to check the level at which a liquid in an opaque or inaccessible tank or reservoir stands; gauge.
- What part of speech is dipstick?
- Dipstick can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce dipstick?
- Dipstick is pronounced /ˈdɪpstɪk/.
- What is the plural of dipstick?
- The plural of dipstick is dipsticks.
Words near dipstick in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dipstick (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-dipstick.ogg.
Cite this entry: “dipstick.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dipstick. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.