drool
Americanverb (used without object)
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drools,
present (3rd person singular)
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drooled,
past participle, past
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drooling
present participle
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to water at the mouth, as in anticipation of food; salivate; drivel.
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to show excessive pleasure or anticipation of pleasure.
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to talk foolishly.
noun
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drools
plural
verb
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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droolsimple
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droolssimple
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have drooledperfect
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has drooledperfect
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am droolingprogressive
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are droolingprogressive
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is droolingprogressive
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have been droolingperfect progressive
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has been droolingperfect progressive
Past
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drooledsimple
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had drooledperfect
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was droolingprogressive
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were droolingprogressive
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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.
See Examples For:
“He’s just standing there, you know, on all fours, and he’s got drool coming down,” recalled Peter, 69.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
If the thought of watching Kardashian face off with the Emmy-winning actor who played Marcia Clark in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” makes you drool a little, dry those gums.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
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
Meanwhile, Bentley tends to drool because of the tumor.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2024
I could tell he was trying hard not to drool when he was talking.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
They gawk at an ice-cream monster who drools soft-serve from his gooey fangs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2024
It changed the feel of the game as it pertained to one of the most awesome forces ever to hit the sport: the Alabama receiver laboratory, routine supplier of NFL drools and draft choices.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 11, 2022
The one thing Macknin could say for sure based on his data was that “a baby who drools or is fussy for weeks before a tooth eruption is not having symptoms due to teething.”
From Slate ● May 4, 2015
I was looking over No. 16 to see if Russell was going to come behind him, like no way is this kid THE Russell Wilson everyone drools over.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2013
He drools a bit, but I don’t mind.
From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate
I coughed over the sink, hardly able to get a breath, until I gagged and drooled into the drain.
From Slate ● Jun. 13, 2026
Yes, my audience giggled dutifully at the jiggling Jell-O salads and drooled over the groovy conversation pits in the Richards’ living room, the only super lair I’d ever live in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2025
I attended, and yes, I drooled as they passed the bowl of guacamole, the many different types of salsas and all of those beautiful tacos and tostadas directly in front of my hungry face.
From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2023
I drooled a little watching Machado and Mark take bites of the face-sized empanadas, which were perfectly golden brown, bubbly in the right spots and oozy, not greasy.
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2023
The boy stuck out a sticky hand for them to shake, and the baby grinned and drooled some more.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
"So although it might be food very near to them and they might be drooling, they actually can't pounce on to them."
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
“I’m drooling all the time because my mouth is not straight,” he said, and shook his head, disappointed.
From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2026
He called 911 as his wife was drooling, lying on her side and having trouble breathing, the video showed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2025
After three hellish days in a drooling, Dramamine-induced coma, I failed my check ride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
“Well?” said Hagrid grumpily, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down around his enormous wooden table, Fang laying his head immediately upon Harry’s knee and drooling all over his robes.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
