moisture condensed from the atmosphere, especially at night, and deposited in the form of small drops upon any cool surface.
something like or compared to such drops of moisture, as in purity, delicacy, or refreshing quality.
moisture in small drops on a surface, as tears or perspiration.
Informal.
drops of water condensed on a cool surface, esp at night, from vapour in the air
( in combination )
dewdrop
something like or suggestive of this, esp in freshness
the dew of youth
small drops of moisture, such as tears
Water droplets condensed from the air, usually at night, onto cool surfaces near the ground. Dew forms when the temperature of the surfaces falls below the dew point of the surrounding air, usually due to radiational cooling.
See also frost
before 900; Middle English; Old English dēaw; cognate with German Tau, Old Norse dǫgg
Dew is moisture caused by condensation of water vapor in the air. Dew is what gets your feet wet when you walk across the grass on a summer morning. Think about a summer night — the sun goes down and the air begins to cool, along with everything that is outside, like grass. Then the sun comes up. The air heats up again, more quickly that the objects. This causes condensation — dew — on grass, plants, car windshields, and so on. Dew quickly evaporates in the sun. That's why you really only see and feel it early in the morning during summer.
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Billions of dollars have been invested in the technology, and in 2018 the US Navy ordered two DEW prototypes for around $75 million each.
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
Umi Patel, the Vice President of consumer insights and analytics at PepsiCo Beverages North America, said the new visual identity "tested positively and drove positive purchase intent across DEW loyalists, Gen Z and millennial consumers."
From Salon • Oct. 10, 2024
DEW stands for directed energy weapons — which use technology like high-energy lasers instead of projectiles like bullets.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2023
The DEW Garita, a bright green beverage, will debut at select Red Lobsters in September and then hit nationwide menus before the end of 2020.
From Fox News • Sep. 15, 2020
Professor DEW, now President of the University of William and Mary, Virginia, in his Review of the Debate in the Virginia Legislature, 1831-2, says, p 49.
From The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 3 of 4 by American Anti-Slavery Society
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.
