1. n. [Drilling]

An abbreviated recovery of pipe out of, and then the replacement of same back into the wellbore. Such a trip is normally limited to 10 or 20 stands of drillpipe. Since the short trip is drillpipe only (no bottomhole assembly for the drilling crew to handle), and is limited in length, it can be accomplished quickly and sometimes results in additional information or improved operating conditions. A short trip often is used to gauge whether a hole is clean or whether the mud weight is sufficient to permit a full trip out of the hole.

See related terms: bottomhole assembly,  stand,  wiper trip