distil
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
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to subject to or undergo distillation See also rectify
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to purify, separate, or concentrate, or be purified, separated, or concentrated by distillation
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to obtain or be obtained by distillation
to distil whisky
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to exude or give off (a substance) in drops or small quantities
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(tr) to extract the essence of as if by distillation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of distil
C14: from Latin dēstillāre to distil, from 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.
The Odones approached Croda, which had large manufacturing plants in Hull, and the chemist Don Suddaby, who was persuaded to distil the formula.
From BBC • Dec. 14, 2025
Cleverly said any attempt to distil the relationship down to a single word or a sound bite was fundamentally flawed.
From Reuters • Aug. 30, 2023
Just two races into the season, it already feels as if this year could distil, like last one, into a two-horse race, with Leclerc replacing Hamilton as Verstappen's main rival.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2022
Cobb also eloquently shows how figurative language does much more than simply distil or give shape to complex, intangible subjects.
From Nature • Mar. 29, 2020
This is strange, as in the East Indies, where the heat is even greater, whole fields are planted with this beautiful shrub, in order to get their leaves to distil the far-fame “Attar.”
From Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume I (of 2) A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day by Anonymous
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.
