Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Dip \Dip\, n.
   1. The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a
      liquid. ``The dip of oars in unison.'' --Glover.

   2. Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line;
      slope; pitch.

   3. A liquid, as a sauce or gravy, served at table with a
      ladle or spoon. [Local, U.S.] --Bartlett.

   4. A dipped candle. [Colloq.] --Marryat.

   {Dip of the horizon} (Astron.), the angular depression of the
      seen or visible horizon below the true or natural horizon;
      the angle at the eye of an observer between a horizontal
      line and a tangent drawn from the eye to the surface of
      the ocean.

   {Dip of the needle}, or {Magnetic dip}, the angle formed, in
      a vertical plane, by a freely suspended magnetic needle,
      or the line of magnetic force, with a horizontal line; --
      called also {inclination}.

   {Dip of a stratum} (Geol.), its greatest angle of inclination
      to the horizon, or that of a line perpendicular to its
      direction or strike; -- called also the {pitch}.

Source : WordNet®

inclination
     n 1: an attitude of mind especially one that favors one
          alternative over others; "he had an inclination to give
          up too easily"; "a tendency to be too strict" [syn: {disposition},
           {tendency}]
     2: (astronomy) the angle between the plane of the orbit and the
        plane of the ecliptic stated in degrees [syn: {inclination
        of an orbit}]
     3: (geometry) the angle formed by the x-axis and a given line
        (measured counterclockwise from the positive half of the
        x-axis) [syn: {angle of inclination}]
     4: (physics) the angle that a magnetic needle makes with the
        plane of the horizon [syn: {dip}, {angle of dip}, {magnetic
        dip}, {magnetic inclination}]
     5: that toward which you are inclined to feel a liking; "her
        inclination is for classical music" [ant: {disinclination}]
     6: the property possessed by a line or surface that departs
        from the vertical; "the tower had a pronounced tilt"; "the
        ship developed a list to starboard"; "he walked with a
        heavy inclination to the right" [syn: {tilt}, {list}, {lean},
         {leaning}]
     7: a characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward
        a certain condition or character or effect; "the alkaline
        inclination of the local waters"; "fabric with a tendency
        to shrink" [syn: {tendency}]
     8: the act of inclining; bending forward; "an inclination of
        his head indicated his agreement" [syn: {inclining}]