humid
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does humid mean? Humid is used to describe air that is full of water vapor. Humid is most commonly applied to weather or the general climate of a place, especially when the temperature is hot. The noun form of humid is humidity. Example: Summertime in Florida is almost unbearably humid.
Synonym Usage
See damp.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of humid
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin (h)ūmidus, equivalent to (h)ūm(ēre) “to be moist” + -idus -id 4
Explanation
When there is a lot of moisture in the air, it is humid out. The air in a rain forest is humid, the air in a desert is dry. People like to say that it's not the heat that bothers them, it's the humidity. They say this because when it is humid, or when there is a lot of water in the air, the heat feels hotter. It also makes wavy hair frizzy and straight hair limp. Air that is cold and moist is called damp, so when people talk about humid air, think tropical, as that's usually how the word is meant.
Vocabulary lists containing humid
The Sweltering Words of Summer
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Seedfolks
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Mexico - Introductory
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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.
In hot and humid conditions, he will soon celebrate his 78th birthday and will have carried out about 36 engagements by the end of this nine-day tour of the Caribbean.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
In some ways, this year’s heat has been reminiscent of California’s deadly heat event of July 2006, which revealed coastal California’s vulnerability to humid heat, Benmarhnia said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
These microorganisms can thrive in the carefully controlled, humid indoor environments used for commercial mushroom cultivation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Some have wanted to escape Washington’s notorious humid summers, while others longed to flee the cold and create a “winter White House” in warmer climes.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2026
It was really hot and humid that day.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
