distill
Americanverb (used with object)
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to subject to a process of vaporization and subsequent condensation, as for purification or concentration.
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to extract the volatile components of by distillation; transform by distillation.
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to concentrate, purify, or obtain by or as by distillation.
to distill whiskey from mash.
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to remove by distillation (usually followed by off orout ).
to distill out impurities.
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to extract the essential elements of; refine; abstract.
She managed to distill her ideas into one succinct article.
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to let fall in drops; give forth in or as in drops.
The cool of the night distills the dew.
verb (used without object)
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to undergo or perform distillation.
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to become vaporized and then condensed in distillation.
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to drop, pass, or condense as a distillate.
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to fall in drops; trickle; exude.
Other Word Forms
- distillable adjective
- nondistillable adjective
- redistill verb (used with object)
- redistillable adjective
- redistillableness noun
Etymology
Origin of distill
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English distillen (from Anglo-French distiller ), from Latin distillāre, variant of dēstillāre, equivalent to dē- de- + stillāre to drip
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.
David rapidly translated his Roman experiences into a personal narrative style that distills physical action into a minutely detailed frozen moment.
As a reporter, one of the fun challenges is to distill tens of thousands of interview words into a story that makes sense.
From Los Angeles Times
Department of Treasury as it seeks to end the federal ban on home distilling.
It’s the best part of an Italian beef, distilled and democratized.
From Salon
It distilled his concept for the museum of “frozen explosion,” rupturing the idea that architecture and artifact should be distinct.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
