drizzle

[ driz-uhl ]
See synonyms for drizzle on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),driz·zled, driz·zling.
  1. to rain gently and steadily in fine drops; sprinkle: It drizzled throughout the night.

  2. to fall in fine drops.

verb (used with object),driz·zled, driz·zling.
  1. to pour in a fine stream: Drizzle melted butter over the breadcrumb topping.

  2. to rain or let fall in fine drops or particles; sprinkle: He then drizzled grated cheese over the hot pasta.

noun
  1. a very light rain.

  2. Meteorology. precipitation consisting of numerous minute droplets of water less than 0.02 inch (0.5 millimeter) in diameter.

Origin of drizzle

1
First recorded in 1535–45; perhaps back formation from dryseling, dissimilated variant of Middle English drysning “fall (of dew)”; akin to Old English drēosan “to fall”; cognate with Old Saxon driosan, Gothic driusan

Other words from drizzle

  • drizzly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use drizzle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for drizzle

drizzle

/ (ˈdrɪzəl) /


noun
  1. very light rain, specifically consisting of droplets less than 0.5 mm in diameter

verb
  1. (intr) to rain lightly

  2. (tr) to moisten with tiny droplets

Origin of drizzle

1
Old English drēosan to fall; related to Old Saxon driosan, Gothic driusan, Norwegian drjōsa

Derived forms of drizzle

  • drizzly, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012