adjective
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slightly damp or wet
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saturated with or suggestive of moisture
Synonym Usage
See damp.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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moistnessnoun
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moistfuladjective
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moistlessadjective
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overmoistadjective
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semimoistadjective
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moistlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of moist
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English moiste, from Middle French; connected with Latin mūcidus “musty, moldy”; see mucid
Explanation
Moist things feel damp when you touch them — they're just a little bit wet. You might want to bring a blanket to sit on for a picnic, especially if it rained yesterday and the grass is still moist. Your houseplants are happiest when their soil is moist, and cake is most delicious if it's a little moist, not dry and crumbly. You can also describe your friend's eyes full of tears as moist, or the air on a densely foggy morning as moist. For some reason, the word moist frequently shows up on lists of "least favorite words," which makes more sense when you know its Latin root, muscidus — "moldy" or "slimy."
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.
Moist environments such as gut mucus, wound fluids, or the urinary tract provide surfaces where bacteria could spread through swashing, even when their flagella are not functioning effectively.
From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026
Moist and fatty dark meat on this bird.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2023
Also included in the designs are specially commissioned artworks of Death and Mort, Tiffany Aching and Moist von Lipwig.
From BBC • Aug. 3, 2023
The Moist Maker, a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich from “Friends,” put him on the map, Rea said.
From Washington Times • Oct. 26, 2020
Moist soft flakes are falling out of it, piling up on roofs and branches, sliding off now and then to hit with a wet cottony thunk.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
