sprinkle
Americanverb (used with object)
-
sprinkles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sprinkled,
past participle, past
-
sprinkling
present participle
-
to scatter (a liquid, powder, etc.) in drops or particles.
She sprinkled sugar on the cake.
- Synonyms:
- rain, scatter, distribute
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to disperse or distribute here and there.
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to overspread with drops or particles of water, powder, or the like.
to sprinkle a lawn.
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to diversify or intersperse with objects scattered here and there.
verb (used without object)
-
sprinkles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sprinkled,
past participle, past
-
sprinkling
present participle
-
to scatter or disperse liquid, a powder, etc., in drops or particles.
-
to be sprinkled.
-
to rain slightly (often used impersonally with it as subject).
It may sprinkle this evening.
noun
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sprinkles
plural
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the act or an instance of sprinkling.
-
Usually sprinkles. small particles of chocolate, candy, sugar, etc., used as a decorative topping for cookies, cakes, ice-cream cones, and the like.
-
a light rain.
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a small quantity or number.
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a small party given to celebrate a mother-to-be or bride-to-be as an alternative to a larger bridal or baby shower.
We decided to skip the big baby shower and just have a sprinkle this time.
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Archaic. something used for sprinkling.
a holy-water sprinkle.
verb
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to scatter (liquid, powder, etc) in tiny particles or droplets over (something)
-
(tr) to distribute over (something)
the field was sprinkled with flowers
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(intr) to drizzle slightly
noun
-
the act or an instance of sprinkling or a quantity that is sprinkled
-
a slight drizzle
Synonym Usage
Sprinkle, scatter, strew mean to fling, spread, or disperse. To sprinkle means to fling about small drops or particles: to sprinkle water on clothes, powder on plants. To scatter is to disperse or spread widely: to scatter seeds. To strew is to scatter, especially in such a way as to cover or partially cover a surface: to strew flowers on a grave.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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resprinkleverb
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intersprinkleverb (used with object)
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presprinkleverb (used with object)
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unsprinkledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sprinklesimple
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sprinklessimple
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have sprinkledperfect
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has sprinkledperfect
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am sprinklingprogressive
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are sprinklingprogressive
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is sprinklingprogressive
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have been sprinklingperfect progressive
-
has been sprinklingperfect progressive
Past
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sprinkledsimple
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had sprinkledperfect
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was sprinklingprogressive
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were sprinklingprogressive
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had been sprinklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sprinkle
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb sprenklen; cognate with Dutch sprenkelen, German sprenkeln; akin to Old English sprengan “to sprinkle, make (something) spring, scatter,” causative of springan “to spring”; see spring
Explanation
A sprinkle is a light shower of something, often water. It’s also a verb that means to gently scatter something. A sprinkle of snow won’t cause school to close, but a sprinkle of fairy dust could transport you to a magical land. When there’s a sprinkle of rain, you should bring an umbrella just in case it turns into a downpour. A sprinkler causes a sprinkle of water to fall on the flowerbeds, and if it’s really hot, it can be fun to play under. At the Memorial Day parade, the firefighters might sprinkle confetti over the crowd — and if you’re lucky, they’ll sprinkle candy, too. Speaking of candy, a sprinkle is also a tiny treat often sprinkled on your ice cream.
Vocabulary lists containing sprinkle
Raining Cats and Dogs
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National Cookie Day
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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.
See Examples For:
A highlight: watching Tinkerbell sprinkle pixie dust on his infant twins during an evening parade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
For an earthy, curry-inspired bowl of soup, sprinkle in a pinch of cumin and coriander or add in a few drops of toasted sesame oil.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
It’s also his first record sung predominantly in Spanish — along with the occasional sprinkle of English and Korean.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
During a red alert -- the highest level -- the ministry advises people to eat light, stay indoors in the hottest parts of the day and sprinkle themselves with cool water.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
“We can sprinkle some on top if you’d like.”
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
"If you start out with pure vanilla ice cream but start mixing in sprinkles soon after, it won't be long until you can no longer find any pristine, plain, vanilla ice cream," Zhu said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
Cake crumbles, graham-cracker crust toppings and star-spangled sprinkles are a whole other challenge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The emoji-filled caption accompanies a slideshow of photos featuring Cuoco, Pelphrey and their 3-year-old Matilda posing with a cake that is pink on the inside and covered in rainbow sprinkles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Others suggest jazzing up plain pizza with sprinkles of oregano, red pepper flakes and umami seasoning.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
The words Congratulations, Grace! are written out in purple icing on top, with yellow flowers around the edge and Sundae School’s trademark star-shaped sprinkles down the sides.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Since the start of her campaign, Raman has sprinkled Spanglish into her speeches and sometimes offered whole sentences in softly accented, lightly stilted Spanish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Others like Roy Francis beforehand, Johnny Freeman, and Colin Dixon, also became established names, but never quite sprinkled the same stardust as Sir Billy.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
These systems have tics—em-dashes sprinkled everywhere, flattery, frequent resort to antithetical contrast—repeated until they become wallpaper, but the problem is greater than that.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
And who knew that 19th-century San Francisco socialites ground up iridescent abalone shells and sprinkled them on their invitations?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Several yellow ones sprinkled the lawn and the driveway.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Mix together a beloved film simmering for decades, a sprinkling of social media hype and a generous glug of star power and you just might conjure up the long-awaited sequel to Practical Magic.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
You hadn’t had “Twin Peaks,” although we were kind of slightly “The Office,” “Twin Peaks,” sprinkling of “Northern Exposure” maybe, but nothing I think of that sort had been for a while.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Baltimore used to address its vacant issue on a citywide basis, sprinkling funds across neighborhoods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Others were seen sprinkling water to cool them.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
“I got ya, kid,” he says, sprinkling tons of mozzarella on top of both of ours.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
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