decant
Americanverb (used with object)
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decants,
present (3rd person singular)
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decanted,
past participle, past
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decanting
present participle
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to pour (wine or other liquid) gently so as not to disturb the sediment.
-
to pour (a liquid) from one container to another.
verb
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to pour (a liquid, such as wine) from one container to another, esp without disturbing any sediment
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(tr) to rehouse (people) while their homes are being rebuilt or refurbished
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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decantsimple
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decantssimple
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have decantedperfect
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has decantedperfect
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am decantingprogressive
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are decantingprogressive
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is decantingprogressive
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have been decantingperfect progressive
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has been decantingperfect progressive
Past
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decantedsimple
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had decantedperfect
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was decantingprogressive
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were decantingprogressive
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had been decantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decant
1625–35; < Medieval Latin dēcanthāre, equivalent to Latin dē- de- + Medieval Latin canth ( us ) spout, rim of a vessel ( Latin: iron band round a wheel < Greek kánthos corner of the eye, tire) + -āre infinitive suffix
Explanation
The verb decant means "to pour." Kids moving water back and forth between two cups, your dad pouring a bucket of soapy water in the sink, or a wine expert emptying a bottle of wine into a fancy glass container — all of them are decanting liquids. When you decant, pronounced "dee-CANT," something by slowly pouring it from one bottle to another, you may feel a little bit like a mad scientist or an alchemist. That image would be appropriate, since early on decant was used by alchemists to describe the process of separating a liquid from a sediment by careful pouring. Today, wine lovers do just that — decanting wine to avoid any solid bits — but pouring any liquid can be described as decanting.
Vocabulary lists containing decant
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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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:
But Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh, who opposes the full decant option, said the proposals were "absurd".
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
But here’s the little trick that makes it feel thoughtful rather than “I just grabbed this on the way in”: decant it.
From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2025
If the oil has separated from the paste, decant the tahini to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high in 30-second bursts, stirring after each, until emulsified and smooth.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2022
“We have solutions that we know will decant the system,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 2022
And I will go and decant the wine.—Quite in the family way, Mr Rainscourt—no ceremony.
From The King's Own by Frederick Marryat
She estimates her collection of decants — the insider term for 2-milliliter bottle samples, which she orders from the website DecantPlanet for between $4 and $12 — is in the hundreds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025
Klein’s husband decants the mixed nuts, and her 2-year-old daughter likes to put her snacks in the bins when they get home from the grocery store.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
Williams, the author of the story collection “A Selfie as Big as the Ritz,” decants her first novel into flights, like wine.
From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2019
Only 20% of our properties are residential, but we're dealing with a growing number of housing estate "decants".
From The Guardian ● Jul. 22, 2013
Her private opinion of her husband she makes into a short story—forgets its origin and shows it him with pride—while the husband decants his heart-beats into occasional verse and minor poetry.
From Certain Personal Matters by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
These once held olive oil imported from Spain, North Africa and the Middle East and were discarded here after the oil was decanted at a nearby port.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2025
The milky white liquor is decanted into a copper kettle, made to be poured into copper rice bowls, as a nod to its history as a farmer's alcohol commonly brewed at home with rice.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2023
Among those who left were Pat Hamid and her husband Abdul who were decanted from Dennison Point in 2011, a few months before the Olympics.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2022
Even for family meals in the kitchen, a bottle of milk or maple syrup would be decanted into a pitcher, a habit that I carry forward, with wine the singular exception.
From New York Times ● May 2, 2022
I decanted about an ounce of the thick, oily liquid into the pressure vial and quickly applied the cap.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
More structured and more tannic than the Wapisa, it definitely benefited from an hour’s decanting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
The anxious decanting of the container influencer points to a fear of scarcity or disorder.
From Slate ● Mar. 15, 2025
"When you have a system that is under so much pressure, you can't get ambulances decanting those vulnerable patients into the ED and those ambulances are trapped."
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2025
Unfiltered Port forms a sediment, or crust, in the bottle, requiring decanting into … well … decanters, allowing oxygen to mix with the Port while the sediment is left in the bottle.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2022
“It is important to chill the vial prior to decanting, as the agent boils at room temperature.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
