drool
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to water at the mouth, as in anticipation of food; salivate; drivel.
-
to show excessive pleasure or anticipation of pleasure.
-
to talk foolishly.
noun
verb
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
droolsimple
-
droolssimple
-
have drooledperfect
-
has drooledperfect
-
am droolingprogressive
-
are droolingprogressive
-
is droolingprogressive
-
have been droolingperfect progressive
-
has been droolingperfect progressive
Past
-
drooledsimple
-
had drooledperfect
-
was droolingprogressive
-
were droolingprogressive
-
had been droolingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of drool
1795–1805; variant of driule, itself variant of drivel
Explanation
The dampness that forms in your mouth when you smell something delicious is drool. When it actually drips from your mouth, you drool. The official term for drool is saliva. Babies drool, dogs drool — we all drool sometimes. Sometimes people drool (or salivate) because of problems with their salivary glands. You might drool when you skip breakfast and your friend offers you a warm, homemade cinnamon roll. The word comes from drivel, which today means "speak nonsense," but originally had the sense of "to slobber or run at the nose."
Vocabulary lists containing drool
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.
And when you fall asleep together watching “Footloose” for the 100th time, both of you might wake up in a puddle of your own drool.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2025
“Go find 10 images of bathrooms you just drool over,” West says.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2023
Castles, volcanoes and yurts — oh my — whiz past at a clip that would make a dice-roller drool.
From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2023
She tearfully recounted one particular incident in which he was so upset she "almost expected drool to be coming out of his mouth" and knew something was "terribly wrong".
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2023
You could almost smell the odor of baby drool on him.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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.
