humid
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does humid mean? Humid is used to describe air that is full of water vapor. Humid is most commonly applied to weather or the general climate of a place, especially when the temperature is hot. The noun form of humid is humidity. Example: Summertime in Florida is almost unbearably humid.
Synonym Usage
See damp.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of humid
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin (h)ūmidus, equivalent to (h)ūm(ēre) “to be moist” + -idus -id 4
Explanation
When there is a lot of moisture in the air, it is humid out. The air in a rain forest is humid, the air in a desert is dry. People like to say that it's not the heat that bothers them, it's the humidity. They say this because when it is humid, or when there is a lot of water in the air, the heat feels hotter. It also makes wavy hair frizzy and straight hair limp. Air that is cold and moist is called damp, so when people talk about humid air, think tropical, as that's usually how the word is meant.
Vocabulary lists containing humid
The Sweltering Words of Summer
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Seedfolks
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Mexico - Introductory
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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.
"They can do naturally well in usual room temperature, because they'll seek out those additional sources of heat, such as your fridge motors and your, sort of, your humid areas."
From BBC • May 28, 2026
Using geochemical data, mineral analysis, and simulations of bioturbation, the researchers discovered repeated humid and arid climate cycles during the Late Cretaceous.
From Science Daily • May 27, 2026
The smell of manure and dirt wafted in the humid air.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
We get up there and it’s hot and humid and people are passing out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
“Louisiana was humid, green, and hot,” Father says, strangely dreamy.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
