humidify
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- humidification noun
- unhumidified adjective
- unhumidifying adjective
Etymology
Origin of humidify
Explanation
To humidify is to make something more moist or damp. If you have a dry cough that's keeping you awake at night, you might want to humidify the air in your bedroom. Humidify means "make humid," and humid, or "damp," comes from a root meaning "wet." You could say that your long, hot shower is sure to humidify the air in the bathroom, or that you try to humidify your house in the winter by putting a pan of water on the wood stove. Possibly the best way to humidify a space is to use a humidifier, a small machine that adds moisture to the air.
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.
The system boasted heat and flame detectors, fire retardant, a 2,500-gallon sprinkler system to soak the property and humidify the air for an hour, and autonomy from the power grid.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2025
Enriched oxygen, first bubbled through water to warm and humidify it, pumped mechanically into her lungs.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 23, 2021
The normally small-sized structures cleanse and humidify the air that passes through the nostrils into the lungs.
From Fox News • May 28, 2019
Its primary function is to receive the air from the external environment and filter, warm, and humidify it before it reaches the delicate lungs where gas exchange will occur.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
If you’re out in cold weather, try to breathe through the nose, which helps humidify the air so the airways won’t dry out.
From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2014
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.
