trickle down

verb

To pass from high-ranked people to lower-ranked people

“The CEO's benefits are unlikely to trickle down to the factory workers.”

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Meanings

verbtrickle down (third-person singular simple present trickles down, present participle trickling down, simple past and past participle trickled down)

present singular third person trickles down · participle present trickling down · participle past trickled down · past trickled down

  1. economicsTo pass from high-ranked people to lower-ranked people

    The CEO's benefits are unlikely to trickle down to the factory workers.

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see trickle, down.

Translations

Polish skapywać, skapnąć
  • skapywaćto pass from high-ranked people to lower-ranked people
  • skapnąćto pass from high-ranked people to lower-ranked people
Cite this entry
APA

trickle down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trickle%20down

MLA

“trickle down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trickle%20down. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “trickle down,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trickle%20down.

Source: trickle down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.