douse

or dowse

[dous]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR douse ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), doused, dous·ing.

to plunge into water or the like; drench: She doused the clothes in soapy water.

to splash or throw water or other liquid on: The children doused each other with the hose.

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

Informal. to remove; doff.

Nautical.

to lower or take in (a sail, mast, or the like) suddenly.
to slacken (a line) suddenly.
to stow quickly.

verb (used without object), doused, dous·ing.

to plunge or be plunged into a liquid.

noun

British Dialect. a stroke or blow.

Origin of douse

First recorded in 1590–1600; origin uncertain

Can be confuseddouse dowse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for douse

deluge, soak, quench, drown, saturate, smother, splash, submerge, wet, dunk, snuff, souse, plunge, slop, immerse, splatter, sop, spatter, duck, slosh

Examples from the Web for douse

Contemporary Examples of douse

Douse the whole thing with some olive oil and add Himalayan pink sea salt to taste.
Four Fatty (But Healthy!) Power Meals to Fuel Your Day
Ari Meisel
March 3, 2014
It was fear of cancer and a douse of hypochondria that brought me to 23andMe in the first place.
23andMe and Me: Why Policymakers Should Set the Genetic Testing Company Free
Charles C. Johnson
February 4, 2014
Fourteen years later, two rookie cops heard gunfire and saw a now 14-year-old Douse coming toward them, that very gun in hand.
How Bronx Teen Shaaliver Douse, Killed by Cops, Ended Up With a Gun
Michael Daly
August 10, 2013
One security guard reported that the fire extinguisher failed to work when he tried to douse the flames.
Arrests Made in Brazilian Nightclub Inferno
Mac Margolis
January 28, 2013
The halon-based fire-suppression systems used by commercial jets in these zones are not able to douse such fires.
What Pilots Fear
Patrick Smith
September 3, 2009

Historical Examples of douse

Jack was about to douse the light, but Hemming told him to let it burn on.
The Three Midshipmen
W.H.G. Kingston
I mind a sentence in it that must have been a douse of cauld watter—toch!
The Dop Doctor
Clotilde Inez Mary Graves
If I could only lay in a crick—roll in it—douse my face in it—soak my clothes in it!
'Me-Smith'
Caroline Lockhart
Douse your glim, mate; we'll be having them Zeppelins all over us.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, October 7, 1914
Various
Douse my to'-gallant top-lights but we'll have a skirmish now sure.
Frank on the Lower Mississippi
Harry Castlemon

British Dictionary definitions for douse

douse

dowse

verb

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

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

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

noun

an immersion

Derived Formsdouser or dowser, noun

Word Origin for douse

C16: perhaps related to obsolete douse to strike, of obscure origin

douse

verb (tr)

nautical to lower (sail) quickly

archaic to strike or beat

noun

archaic a blow

Word Origin for douse

C16: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to douse 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for douse

1550s, "to strike, punch," which is perhaps from Middle Dutch dossen "beat forcefully" or a similar Low German word.

Meaning "to strike a sail in haste" is recorded from 1620s; that of "to extinguish (a light)" is from 1785; perhaps influenced by dout (1520s), an obsolete contraction of do out (cf. doff, don). OED regards the meaning "to plunge into water, to throw water over" (c.1600) as a separate word, of unknown origin, though admitting there may be a connection of some sort. Related: Doused; dousing.