distill

American  

[dih-stil] / dɪˈstɪl /

especially British, distil

verb (used with object)

distils, present (3rd person singular) distilled, past participle, past distilling present participle

1. to subject to a process of vaporization and subsequent condensation, as for purification or concentration.

2. to extract the volatile components of by distillation; transform by distillation.

3. to concentrate, purify, or obtain by or as by distillation.

   to distill whiskey from mash.

4. to remove by distillation (usually followed by off orout ).

   to distill out impurities.

5. to extract the essential elements of; refine; abstract.

   She managed to distill her ideas into one succinct article.

6. to let fall in drops; give forth in or as in drops.

   The cool of the night distills the dew.

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verb (used without object)

distils, present (3rd person singular) distilled, past participle, past distilling present participle

1. to undergo or perform distillation.

2. to become vaporized and then condensed in distillation.

3. to drop, pass, or condense as a distillate.

4. to fall in drops; trickle; exude.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• redistillable
  adjective
• redistill
  verb (used with object)
• distillable
  adjective
• nondistillable
  adjective
• redistillableness
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have distilled
  perfect
• has distilled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• are distilling
  progressive
• have been distilling
  perfect progressive
• am distilling
  progressive 1st person singular
• distilling
  participle
• distils
  singular 3rd person
• is distilling
  progressive 3rd person singular
• has been distilling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular

Past

• had distilled
  perfect
• distilled
  participle
• was distilling
  progressive singular
• had been distilling
  perfect progressive
• distilled
  simple
• were distilling
  progressive plural

Future

• will distill
  simple
• will have distilled
  perfect
• will be distilling
  progressive
• will have been distilling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of distill

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English distillen (from Anglo-French distiller ), from Latin distillāre, variant of dēstillāre, equivalent to dē- de- + stillāre to drip

Explanation

When you distill something, you are boiling it down to its essence — its most important part. Whether it's alcohol or ideas, the distilled part is the most powerful. The original meaning of distill comes from the process of making alcohol, known as distilling, in which all the impurities of a substance are vaporized and its pure, high-alcohol condensation collected. Distill eventually came to mean any process in which the essence of something is revealed. If you take notes at a lecture and then turn them into an essay for your professor, you're distilling your notes into something more pure and exact. At least, that's what you hope you're doing.

Example Sentences

Like any good pastor, he knows how to distill that discontent into soundbites and stories.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026

And who better to distill reams of complex information than someone who understands a picture is worth a thousand words?

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Patience; communication, organizational and presentation skills; the ability to distill complex ideas; and project-management skills are all qualities and skills that can be valuable in many other professions.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

For the predictions to be accurate, or efficient, the platforms rely on a pool of traders to distill the wisdom of the crowd.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

For hundreds of years, alchemists had been trying to distill azoth.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Related Words

• condense
• extract
• infuse
• refine