mist

¹ American  

[mist] / mɪst /

noun

1. a cloudlike aggregation of minute globules of water suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface, reducing visibility to a lesser degree than fog.

2. a cloud of particles resembling this.

   She sprayed a mist of perfume onto her handkerchief.

3. something that dims, obscures, or blurs.

   the mist of ignorance.

4. a haze before the eyes that dims the vision.

   a mist of tears.

5. a suspension of a liquid in a gas.

6. a drink of liquor served over cracked ice.

7. a fine spray produced by a vaporizer to add moisture to the air for breathing.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to become misty.

2. to rain in very fine drops; drizzle (usually used impersonally with it as subject).

   It was misting when they went out for lunch.

verb (used with object)

1. to make misty.

2. to spray (plants) with a finely diffused jet of water, as a means of replacing lost moisture.

mist. ² American  

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) a mixture.

---

mist British  

/ mɪst /

noun

1. a thin fog resulting from condensation in the air near the earth's surface

2. meteorol such an atmospheric condition with a horizontal visibility of 1–2 kilometres

3. a fine spray of any liquid, such as that produced by an aerosol container

4. chem a colloidal suspension of a liquid in a gas

5. condensed water vapour on a surface that blurs the surface

6. something that causes haziness or lack of clarity, such as a film of tears

---

verb

1. to cover or be covered with or as if with mist

mist Scientific  

/ mĭst /

1. A mass of fine droplets of water in the atmosphere near or in contact with the Earth. Mist reduces visibility to not less than 1 km (0.62 mi).

2. Compare fog

---

Usage

What else does mist mean? Content warning: this article references illicit drugs.A mist is, literally speaking, a cloud of fine liquid droplets, but in slang it can variously refer to drugs and the experience of being on them. Mist can also be an alternative spelling or misspelling of missed.

Related Words

See cloud.

Other Word Forms

• demist verb (used with object)
• mistless adjective
• undermist noun

Etymology

Origin of mist¹

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch, Low German, Swedish mist; akin to Greek omíchlē “fog,” Russian mgla “mist,” Sanskrit megha “cloud”; (verb) Middle English misten, Old English mistian, derivative of the noun

Origin of mist.²

From the Latin word mistūra

Example Sentences

Harry filled his mind—her braids, the deep warm glow of her skin, her smile —all of it coming together like a mist until she was the only thing he could picture.

From Literature

Tule fog—a dense, low-lying mist named for a reedlike plant that grows in the region’s marshes—can settle over California’s vast agricultural heartland, typically from November through March.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sunny spells will continue in many areas but mist and fog patches will mean murky mornings for some.

From BBC

In the morning a cold wet mist hung over the Lagerstrasse.

From Literature

I remember we were making our way up a hillside, the early morning mists thinner now and wispier than before.

From Literature

Related Words

• cloud
• dew
• drizzle
• fog
• moisture
• rain
• smog
• steam