dew
- moisture condensed from the atmosphere, especially at night, and deposited in the form of small drops upon any cool surface.
- something like or compared to such drops of moisture, as in purity, delicacy, or refreshing quality.
- moisture in small drops on a surface, as tears or perspiration.
- Informal.
- to wet with or as with dew.
Origin of dew
DEW
- distant early warning.
Related Words for dew
condensationExamples from the Web for dew
Contemporary Examples of dew
Cars in the cross alley are covered with a silver glaze of dew.
But now I found myself enjoying it: the full moon, the sound of crickets, the long grass already wet from the evening dew.
Historical Examples of dew
It looks as if the dew was on it; but the tears will not make it grow again—will they?
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
Nonsense must have the dew on it, or it is good for nothing.
MalboneThomas Wentworth Higginson
She has faded away like a rainbow—like a drop of dew in the sun.
Green MansionsW. H. Hudson
Not only all night, but all day, has the dew lain upon its purity.
The Works of Whittier, Volume V (of VII)John Greenleaf Whittier
She was walking down a lane, her short skirts brushed by the morning dew.
Tiverton TalesAlice Brown
dew
- drops of water condensed on a cool surface, esp at night, from vapour in the air
- (in combination)dewdrop
- something like or suggestive of this, esp in freshnessthe dew of youth
- small drops of moisture, such as tears
- (tr) poetic to moisten with or as with dew
Word Origin for dew
Word Origin and History for dew
Old English deaw, from Proto-Germanic *dawwaz (cf. Old Saxon dau, Old Frisian daw, Middle Dutch dau, Old High German tau, German Tau, Old Norse dögg "dew"), from PIE root *dheu- (2) "to flow" (cf. Sanskrit dhavate "flows, runs").
dew
- Water droplets condensed from the air, usually at night, onto cool surfaces near the ground. Dew forms when the temperature of the surfaces falls below the dew point of the surrounding air, usually due to radiational cooling. See also frost.