adjective
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slightly damp or wet
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saturated with or suggestive of moisture
Related Words
See damp.
Other Word Forms
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 air from the Pacific moves west to east and then is pushed up over mountains into the cooler atmosphere and releases precipitation -- leaving the air dry once it gets to the other side.
From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2023
Moist and fatty dark meat on this bird.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2023
"Moist incubation" is a new fermenting technique, developed by Prof Chetschik and her team, in which cocoa beans are dried, then a lactic acid solution containing ethanol is applied.
From BBC • Jul. 7, 2022
Picture this: It's two days after Thanksgiving, and you've consumed more "Moist Maker" turkey sandwiches than any one person needs to eat.
From Salon • Nov. 27, 2021
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.
