From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsopsop1 /sɒp $ sɑːp/ noun [countable usually singular] OFFERsomething not very important or valuable that a government or someone in authority offers to people to stop them from complaining or protesting – used to show disapprovalsop to The company agreed to inspect the river regularly, as a sop to the environmental lobby.
Examples from the Corpus
sop• Some critics question its sustainability and others view it as a sop to pacify the poor.• This latest move is seen mainly as a sop to the increasingly militant, student-led protests demanding an immediate trial.• Before the election, they often gave the impression that they saw it only as a sop for disaffected left-wing intellectuals.• A dangerous game, a sop to his conscience, he told himself, and he had his enemies.• The most substantive problem, which advocates try to hide, is that the flat tax is a sop to the rich.• It was a contemptuous sop of a clue, something they thought they could afford, but it might be useful.• Yet, underneath all that show of sop and decency was a man utterly fixed on himself, on his own concerns.sop to• The real truth is: that bill is a sop to the rich.sopsop2 verb (sopped, sopping) → sop something ↔ up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
sop• I sat peacefully at the Lopezes' kitchen table as they fed Janir some applesauce and bread sopped in milk.• The amendment passed, and the Gallos sopped up millions.• Off we went to a rickety bar in Sabinal Mextown and spent an hour sopping up the brew.• She wanted to sop up whatever it was that drove Carrie away.• Beneath his glass lay a sheet of paper, sopping up wine.From Longman Business DictionarySOPSOPHUMAN RESOURCES written abbreviation for standard operating procedureOrigin sop1 (1600-1700) sop “bread dipped into liquid” ((11-21 centuries)), from Old English sopp sop2 (1800-1900) sop “to dip into liquid” ((11-20 centuries)), from Old English soppian, from sopp; → SOP1 