mist

¹

[ mist ]

noun

1. a cloudlike aggregation of minute globules of water suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface, reducing visibility to a lesser degree than fog.
2. a cloud of particles resembling this:

   She sprayed a mist of perfume onto her handkerchief.

3. something that dims, obscures, or blurs:

   the mist of ignorance.

4. a haze before the eyes that dims the vision:

   a mist of tears.

5. a suspension of a liquid in a gas.
6. a drink of liquor served over cracked ice.
7. a fine spray produced by a vaporizer to add moisture to the air for breathing.

verb (used without object)

1. to become misty.
2. to rain in very fine drops; drizzle (usually used impersonally with it as subject):

   It was misting when they went out for lunch.

verb (used with object)

1. to make misty.
2. to spray (plants) with a finely diffused jet of water, as a means of replacing lost moisture.

mist.

²

abbreviation for

1. (in prescriptions) a mixture.

mist

/ mɪst /

noun

1. a thin fog resulting from condensation in the air near the earth's surface
2. meteorol such an atmospheric condition with a horizontal visibility of 1–2 kilometres
3. a fine spray of any liquid, such as that produced by an aerosol container
4. chem a colloidal suspension of a liquid in a gas
5. condensed water vapour on a surface that blurs the surface
6. something that causes haziness or lack of clarity, such as a film of tears

verb

1. to cover or be covered with or as if with mist

mist

/ mĭst /

1. A mass of fine droplets of water in the atmosphere near or in contact with the Earth. Mist reduces visibility to not less than 1 km (0.62 mi).
2. Compare fog

Other Words From

• mistless adjective
• de·mist verb (used with object)
• under·mist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mist¹

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch, Low German, Swedish mist; akin to Greek omíchlē “fog,” Russian mgla “mist,” Sanskrit megha “cloud”; (verb) Middle English misten, Old English mistian, derivative of the noun

Origin of mist²

From the Latin word mistūra

Word History and Origins

Origin of mist¹

Old English; related to Middle Dutch, Swedish mist, Greek omikhlē fog

Synonym Study

See cloud.

Example Sentences

In this valley so far away from Syria, questions loom like mist drifting off the Caucasus.

From The Daily Beast

The Spire, like most fountains, has the basics -- Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Brisk Iced Tea and SoBe Lifewater.

From The Daily Beast

A morning mist hung over everything, clearing occasionally to reveal lone fishermen.

From The Daily Beast

E-cigarettes have never been studied, but inhaling really hot mist into the lung probably will have consequences.

From The Daily Beast

Until 20 minutes before, the mist had completely obscured whatever stood across the plaza at the 9/11 Memorial.

From The Daily Beast

She set off down Trafalgar Road in the mist and the rain, glad that she had been compelled to walk.

From Project Gutenberg

Specimens were easily collected in a mist net placed across the opening.

From Project Gutenberg

For a moment there seemed a sudden light before her eyes, and then a dark mist; in another she recovered herself.

From Project Gutenberg

I have blotted out thy iniquities as a cloud, and thy sins as a mist: return to me, for I have redeemed thee.

From Project Gutenberg

A damp mist rose from the river and the marshy ground about, and spread itself over the dreary fields.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cloud
• dew
• drizzle
• fog
• moisture
• rain
• smog
• steam