4. Fig.: To be guilty of a misstep; to commit an offense against morality, propriety, or rule; to err; to mistake; to fail. "Till his tongue trip." Locke. A blind will thereupon comes to be led by a blind understanding; there is no remedy, but it must trip and stumble. South. Virgil is so exact in every word that none can be changed but for a worse; he pretends sometimes to trip, but it is to make you think him in danger when most secure. Dryden. What dost thou verily trip upon a word R. Browning.
TRIP
Trip, v. t.
1. To cause to stumble, or take a false step; to cause to lose the footing, by striking the feet from under; to cause to fall; to throw off the balance; to supplant; — often followed by up; as, to trip up a man in wrestling. The words of Hobbes's defense trip up the heels of his cause. Abp. Bramhall.
2. Fig.: To overthrow by depriving of support; to put an obstacle in the way of; to obstruct; to cause to fail. To trip the course of law, and blunt the sword. Shak.
3. To detect in a misstep; to catch; to convict. [R.] These her women can trip me if I err. Shak.
4. (Naut.) (a) To raise (an anchor) from the bottom, by its cable or buoy rope, so that it hangs free. (b) To pull (a yard) into a perpendicular position for lowering it.
5. (Mach.)
Defn: To release, let fall, or see free, as a weight or compressed spring, as by removing a latch or detent.
TRIP
Trip, n.
1. A quick, light step; a lively movement of the feet; a skip. His heart bounded as he sometimes could hear the trip of a light female step glide to or from the door. Sir W. Scott.