- present participle of sprinkle.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sprinkling
First recorded in 1400–50, sprinkling is from the late Middle English word sprenclyng. See sprinkle, -ing 1
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:
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
This is how you prevent the flat, powdery taste that comes from sprinkling seasoning over finished sauce.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026
"The star has so little carbon that it suggests an early sprinkling of cosmic dust is responsible for making it," said Ji.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2026
The rain was a misty sprinkling on her skin.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
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But one factor is that many vaccine-related conspiracy theories contain sprinklings of truth.
From New York Times ● May 25, 2022
Any that are found must come from geologically recent sprinklings.
From Science Magazine ● Jul. 15, 2021
What 5th Avenue artistic director Berry does, with flair and propulsion, is honor the original and bring it to life with more Latinx actors in the mix and sprinklings of Spanish in the dialogue.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 12, 2019
In both cases, however, there were sprinklings of truth inserted in the fakes in order to scare journalists off calling them fabrications and to lure people into line-by-line debates that distract from the larger issues.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2019
It had a dirt floor packed down from many water sprinklings, and its walls were smooth-plastered adobe.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
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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.