distil
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
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to subject to or undergo distillation See also rectify
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to purify, separate, or concentrate, or be purified, separated, or concentrated by distillation
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to obtain or be obtained by distillation
to distil whisky
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to exude or give off (a substance) in drops or small quantities
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(tr) to extract the essence of as if by distillation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of distil
C14: from Latin dēstillāre to distil, from de- + stillāre to drip
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It was given to CMAL, who then used a design firm to distil this into a 130-page document which was sent to all the bidders.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2023
Cleverly said any attempt to distil the relationship down to a single word or a sound bite was fundamentally flawed.
From Reuters ● Aug. 30, 2023
Just two races into the season, it already feels as if this year could distil, like last one, into a two-horse race, with Leclerc replacing Hamilton as Verstappen's main rival.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2022
The great power of poetry is its ability to distil thought, observation and emotion into a form that moves us profoundly.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 4, 2018
At moments they seemed to distil like water from its source; then again they fell softly but quickly like dense rain showers in May.
From The Deluge, Vol. I. (of 2) An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. by Henryk Sienkiewicz
White wine vinegar — or even plain distilled white vinegar — is excellent with potatoes, creamy chicken soups and corn chowders.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
He distilled the disagreement into the dissent’s sharpest line.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
Cowin’s own restraint and withholding yield images of distilled power.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
I’ve distilled their wisdom into three nonnegotiable rules that I now live by.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
It’s sharp and organic, as if whatever life-forms that were distilled by time into the tar haven’t entirely finished decomposing.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Department of Justice, a case challenging the federal prohibition against home distilling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
The San Francisco-based AI lab also accused Chinese developers of deceptively using Claude to produce responses to user queries while simultaneously "distilling" that data to improve their own models.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Chinese developers have relied on a mix of ingenuity, state support, open-source sharing and distilling from U.S. models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
After pausing distilling operations in Clermont, the company moved most of its production to its Booker Noe facility just down the street, named for Noe’s grandfather.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
By the evening of that day Napoleon was back at work, and on the next day it was learned that he had instructed Whymper to purchase in Willingdon some booklets on brewing and distilling.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
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