drench
Americanverb (used with object)
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to wet thoroughly; soak.
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to saturate by immersion in a liquid; steep.
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to cover or fill completely; bathe.
trees drenched with sunlight.
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Veterinary Medicine. to administer a draft of medicine to (an animal), especially by force.
to drench a horse.
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Archaic. to cause to drink.
noun
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the act of drenching.
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something that drenches.
a drench of rain.
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a preparation for drenching or steeping.
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a solution, especially one of fermenting bran, for drenching hides or skins.
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a large drink or draft.
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a draft of medicine, especially one administered to an animal by force.
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Horticulture. a mixture of pesticide and water applied to the soil surrounding a plant.
verb
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to make completely wet; soak
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to give liquid medicine to (an animal), esp by force
noun
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the act or an instance of drenching
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a dose of liquid medicine given to an animal
Usage
What does drench mean? To drench is to soak with a liquid, as in The rain drenched me from head to foot. Often, drench is used in reference to rain, bodies of water, or a spill of some kind. To drench is also to saturate with liquid. When you saturate, or drench, a sponge with water, for example, you add as much water as the sponge can hold. Figuratively, to drench is also to cover or fill completely, such as drenching a plant with sunlight by placing the plant in a sunny window. You might also be drenched in a strong emotion, such as joy or sadness. In other words, you’re full of that joy or sadness. A drench is a large amount of liquid that is poured or dropped onto something, such as rain during a powerful rain storm. Drench is also the specific act of drenching something. Example: The rain is going to absolutely drench the clothes hanging on the laundry line.
Synonym Usage
See wet.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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drenchsimple
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drenchessimple
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have drenchedperfect
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has drenchedperfect
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am drenchingprogressive
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are drenchingprogressive
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is drenchingprogressive
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have been drenchingperfect progressive
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has been drenchingperfect progressive
Past
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drenchedsimple
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had drenchedperfect
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was drenchingprogressive
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were drenchingprogressive
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had been drenchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of drench
First recorded before 900; Middle English drenchen, Old English drencan, causative of drincan “to drink” ( see drink); cognate with Dutch drenken, German tränken “to water, give to drink”
Explanation
To drench something is to get it thoroughly wet. You might drench your sister with the garden hose to pay her back for squirting you with her water pistol. When you're sailing a small boat on a stormy day, waves might drench you, and a torrential rain storm can also drench you, if you leave your umbrella at home. If your dog is crazy about swimming, he might drench himself often by plunging into whatever body of water you're near. Drench comes from the Old English drencan, which means both "submerge or drown" and "give drink to or make drunk."
Vocabulary lists containing drench
"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
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Raining Cats and Dogs
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The Circuit
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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:
Moderate to heavy rains will continue to drench parts of the country throughout the weekend, officials say.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Showers that don’t drench you or flood the bathroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Moderate to major coastal flooding could drench roads and waterfront property from Delaware to Cape Cod.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
State officials say this tunnel would let the state capture more water when the state is hit by “atmospheric rivers” — large storms that can drench the state for weeks during the rainy season.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
No matter how I drench my hair under the tap it sticks out in all directions.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
The alternative, Red Ambience, drenches the car in a fathomless shade of garnet metallic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Trains and flights have been cancelled in Japan as one of the strongest typhoons to hit the country in decades drenches cities in its path.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2024
Birria bathes the meat in broth, tortas ahogadas dips or drenches the sandwich, and carne en su jugo, as the name implies, serves meat in its own juices.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2023
The constantly recycling water drenches the planting boxes, and the runoff drips back into the fish tank, keeping the water aerated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2022
Somewhere a dam has cracked open and a flood of cold sweat spills, drenches your body.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Rowsell even has a mid-set costume change, going from pristine white hotpants to an all-black outfit, drenched in cold water to battle the searing summer heat.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Mainly all over him as his friends and family drenched him as he made his way to the media centre after the match.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Soft pieces of bread are drenched in a buttery mixture of Dijon mustard, brown sugar and Worcestershire before being baked into a golden, shareable centerpiece.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
And while Rosenqvist ended the day drenched in milk, the celebratory beverage of choice at Indy, Malukas could hardly comprehend what he had just experienced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
My tank top was completely drenched in sweat.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
As other parts of the UK prepared for the fourth heatwave of the summer, the Commonwealth Games athletics competition was given a drenching in Glasgow.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Teenage boys have been drenching themselves and their surroundings in its scents for decades—and drawing complaints and choking coughs for just as long.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026
Flooding struck the popular holiday island of Ibiza on Saturday for the second time in two weeks as the storm moved east and north into the Mediterranean after drenching southeastern Spain.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2025
The settlement was reached five years after 15,000 gallons of jet fuel from a Delta Air Lines plane were dumped onto Cudahy, drenching children playing at a school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
He remembered the day well, a pelting, drenching day when the water streamed down the window pane and the light indoors was too dull to read by.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
