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

Example Sentences

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

From The Wall Street Journal

The household matriarch, Sylvia, 64, said it took them five hours of dousing with buckets to extinguish the flames.

From Los Angeles Times

Once inside, the Resistance members pulled documents out of drawers, piled them up on the floor and doused them with benzene.

From Literature

That excitement was doused a moment later when I remembered that my future was no longer just mine—it was forever tangled with Regan’s.

From Literature

“The Mountain” is, as expected, heavily doused with notions on the concept of death.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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