DMV Practice LabFind your state
Road warnings

Dip

What does it mean?

A depression in the roadway is ahead. The sign warns of a sudden change in the road's vertical profile, not a change in the number or direction of lanes.

What to do when you see it

  1. Reduce speed smoothly before entering the depression.
  2. Follow any advisory-speed plaque.
  3. Keep enough distance to respond if traffic ahead slows sharply.

How to recognize it

  • Yellow diamond.
  • The single black word DIP.

On the road

A local road drops through a drainage dip and rises again. You slow before the depression rather than reaching it at the same speed as the level approach.

Don’t confuse it with

Yellow diamond reading BUMP.

Bump

Dip is a depression; Bump is a sharp rise or raised irregularity.

Yellow diamond with black ROAD NARROWS lettering.

Road narrows

Road Narrows concerns width rather than the road's vertical profile.

Put the meaning into practice

Try a related sign quizChoose your state

The related quiz includes this sign and other study questions. State practice can also cover local rules; it is not an official DMV exam.

Common U.S. sign recognition, reviewed October 3, 2026. Actual sign values, additional plaques and local rules can change how you should respond.