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.
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 freshness
the dew of youth
small drops of moisture, such as tears
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
before 900; Middle English; Old English dēaw; cognate with German Tau, Old Norse dǫgg
Dew is moisture caused by condensation of water vapor in the air. Dew is what gets your feet wet when you walk across the grass on a summer morning. Think about a summer night — the sun goes down and the air begins to cool, along with everything that is outside, like grass. Then the sun comes up. The air heats up again, more quickly that the objects. This causes condensation — dew — on grass, plants, car windshields, and so on. Dew quickly evaporates in the sun. That's why you really only see and feel it early in the morning during summer.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That should help run-scoring and dew could have a significant impact, giving an advantage to the chasing side.
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026
"So we'll be trying to lose the odd toss, but no, you've got to try and factor in the dew, the opposition and what you think the pitch might do."
From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026
Out of a Toyota Camry came another, who brushed his teeth in the driver’s side mirror, spit the toothpaste on the asphalt, rubbed the dew off his windshield with paper towels, and drove off.
From Slate • Jan. 27, 2026
“Pulsing Lifters,” in an arrangement for two pianos and harpsichord, is like a delicate dew.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2025
The pony’s tracks were plain enough, dragging through the frostlike dew on the young grass, tired tracks with little lines between them where the hoofs had dragged.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
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.
