Meaning & use

sap

noun·Everyday

The watery fluid that circulates through a plant, carrying nutrients and water.

See it in a sentence

Maple syrup is made by boiling down the sap collected from maple trees.

Sticky sap oozed from the cut in the pine tree's bark.

A note on using this word

As a verb, "sap" means to gradually drain someone's strength or energy, as in "the heat sapped our energy."

Words with a similar meaning

This term is best learned through its definition and examples.

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Another way to use it

2. verb

To gradually weaken or drain someone's strength, energy, or confidence.

Months of stress had sapped his enthusiasm for the job.

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