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.

---

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)

---

noun

1. an immersion

douse ² British  

/ daʊs /

verb

1. nautical to lower (sail) quickly

2. archaic to strike or beat

---

noun

1. archaic a blow

Other Word Forms

• douser noun

Etymology

Origin of douse

First recorded in 1590–1600; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

The fire - which spread quickly both upwards and between the blocks - was only fully doused by Friday morning, some 40 hours after it started, and took more than 2,000 firefighters to bring under control.

From BBC

Locklear asked that the lights at DeMille field be doused so he could see when he should pull out of his dive.

From Los Angeles Times

The fire - which spread quickly both upwards and between the blocks - was only fully doused by Friday morning, and took more than 2,000 firefighters to bring under control.

From BBC

As a result, the blaze reignited in some places after being doused, they said.

From BBC

Firefighters continued to douse the building with water to cool the structure and prevent embers from re-igniting.

From Barron's

Related Words

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