trickle

Barely there flow

Trickle describes liquid flowing in a thin, slow stream rather than a rush: Water trickled from the faucet.

The word extends to anything arriving gradually in small amounts: News trickled in throughout the day, a trickle of customers.

As a noun, a trickle is such a flow.

Trickle-down economics is the theory that benefits to the wealthy will eventually reach everyone else.

flow

drip

Liquid falling slowly

seepFlow slowly through
oozeSeep gradually out
drizzleVery light precipitation

leak · percolate · runnel · rivulet · stream · creep · weep · filter · run · spill

infiltrate

seep

Flow slowly through

permeateSpread through entirely
penetrateEnter or pass through
filterPorous separation device

diffuse · spread · migrate · creep · leak · pass · enter · work through · slip through · percolate

gradual

slow

Lacking in speed

steadyFixed, not fluctuating
gentleSoft and kind
continuousWithout pause or gap

constant · measured · persistent · intermittent · sporadic · irregular · uneven · fitful · halting · incremental

economics

flow

Unbroken forward movement

filterPorous separation device
percolateFilter through gradually
distributeDivide and deliver

spread · reach · benefit · pass · transfer · circulate · disseminate · diffuse · spillover · redistribute

scant

sparse

Thinly scattered or distributed

meagerDeficient in quantity
scantBarely adequate amount
paltryContemptibly meager

slight · minimal · modest · negligible · token · pittance · handful · smattering · few · limited

Categories

wateringwatering can, sprinkler, hose, drip irrigation, soaking
small streamsbrook, creek, rill, rivulet, runnel
cascadesfalls, flow, pour, torrent, rush
waterocean, river, sea, lake, wave
natural soundsthunder, rain, wind, birdsong, waves
downward motionsfall, drop, descend, plunge, sink

Opposites

flow volume and intensity

tricklegush

Flow out forcefully

flood · pour · torrent · deluge · cascade

RATE OF ACCUMULATION OR ARRIVAL (figurative)

trickleflood

Overwhelming water overflow

deluge · torrent · avalanche · surge · wave

Phrases

trick or treatHalloween door-to-door phrase
magic trickPerformed feat seeming impossible
do the trickAchieve the desired result
trick questionDeliberately misleading inquiry
confidence trickFraud exploiting victim's trust
hat trickThree scores, one game

Family

trick, trickling, trickled, trickles, tricklings, trickle-down, trickle down

Familiarity: Top 20,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G