douse

American  

[dous] / daʊs /

Or dowse

verb (used with object)

doused, dousing

1. to plunge into water or the like; drench.

   She doused the clothes in soapy water.

2. to splash or throw water or other liquid on.

   The children doused each other with the hose.

3. to extinguish.

   She quickly doused the candle's flame with her fingertips.

4. Informal. to remove; doff.

5. Nautical.

   1. to lower or take in (a sail, mast, or the like) suddenly.

   2. to slacken (a line) suddenly.

   3. to stow quickly.

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verb (used without object)

doused, dousing

1. to plunge or be plunged into a liquid.

noun

1. British Dialect. a stroke or blow.

douse ¹ British  

/ daʊs /

verb

1. to plunge or be plunged into water or some other liquid; duck

2. (tr) to drench with water, esp in order to wash or clean

3. (tr) to put out (a light, candle, etc)

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noun

1. an immersion

douse ² British  

/ daʊs /

verb

1. nautical to lower (sail) quickly

2. archaic to strike or beat

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noun

1. archaic a blow

Other Word Forms

• douser noun

Etymology

Origin of douse

First recorded in 1590–1600; origin uncertain

Explanation

Use the verb douse to describe covering something with water or other liquid. When you're camping, you douse the campfire with water when you're done with it. Douse often involves water, but you could also douse your French fries in ketchup. Douse can describe the act of extinguishing a candle, or even turning off a light. You might douse your bedroom light when it's time to sleep or simply douse a candle by blowing it out. Douse is most commonly pronounced to rhyme with mouse.

Example Sentences

Regular fertilizers such as urea, by contrast, douse plants in nitrogen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

The earlier disaster may have helped douse a decades-long conflict between Aceh's separatists and the Indonesian government, but a simmering mistrust of Jakarta lingers.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

A quick douse in the shower, he says, is his usual trick to get them clean.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025

“In many cases, firefighters use water to douse and cool nearby structures to keep the fire from spreading further. This minimizes additional damage to the facilities.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2025

The watchman made a frantic attempt to douse the flames with a dock hose, then ran from the marina.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

Related Words

• deluge
• drown
• put out
• quench
• saturate
• smother
• snuff out
• soak
• splash
• submerge
• wet