mist

¹ American  

[mist] / mɪst /

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.

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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 American  

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) a mixture.

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mist British  

/ 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

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verb

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

mist Scientific  

/ 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

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Usage

What else does mist mean? Content warning: this article references illicit drugs.A mist is, literally speaking, a cloud of fine liquid droplets, but in slang it can variously refer to drugs and the experience of being on them. Mist can also be an alternative spelling or misspelling of missed.

Related Words

See cloud.

Other Word Forms

• demist verb (used with object)
• mistless adjective
• undermist noun

Etymology

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 mist.²

From the Latin word mistūra

Example Sentences

In the morning a cold wet mist hung over the Lagerstrasse.

From Literature

And we could still smell the smoke—it seemed to be clinging to the trees all around us, drifting about us like a yellow mist.

From Literature

The mist in the grove was blue now, and a patch of the darkness changed.

From Literature

Then it was gone, melting into the Forest as silently as mist.

From Literature

Some northern areas of the UK could see some cloud lingering with other areas also seeing some early morning mist and fog.

From BBC

Related Words

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