adjective
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slightly damp or wet
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saturated with or suggestive of moisture
Synonym Usage
See damp.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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moistnessnoun
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moistfuladjective
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moistlessadjective
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overmoistadjective
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semimoistadjective
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moistlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of moist
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English moiste, from Middle French; connected with Latin mūcidus “musty, moldy”; see mucid
Explanation
Moist things feel damp when you touch them — they're just a little bit wet. You might want to bring a blanket to sit on for a picnic, especially if it rained yesterday and the grass is still moist. Your houseplants are happiest when their soil is moist, and cake is most delicious if it's a little moist, not dry and crumbly. You can also describe your friend's eyes full of tears as moist, or the air on a densely foggy morning as moist. For some reason, the word moist frequently shows up on lists of "least favorite words," which makes more sense when you know its Latin root, muscidus — "moldy" or "slimy."
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:
Experts have told The Times, humidity impedes the body’s ability to cool itself naturally, because the moist atmosphere doesn’t allow for sweat to evaporate as easily, causing you to continue to get warmer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
A change in wind direction at this time of year pulls warm, moist air northward from the Gulf of California and the tropical Pacific, triggering storms over mountainous terrain.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Bake: Pour into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, until golden and a tester comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Use extractor fans when cooking or showering because they remove warm, moist air before it spreads through the home.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
I lifted, feeling the warm, moist air hold me up.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
A higher dew point means the air is moister and thus will feel muggier.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2025
The two systems spin like a pair of intermeshed gears, drawing warmer, moister air up from the mid-Atlantic Ocean into the Arctic, leading to downpours of rain in Svalbard.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2024
"Where they grow in California, it's cooler and moister than you would typically envisage California to be," he explained.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2024
And the drumstick stayed moister than the other birds, with superior flavor.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
It was all familiar, the scent of the hedges and the earth and the air, so much cooler and moister than in the south.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
She and her son Eric make the cakes from a recipe Doan perfected many years ago: a fluffy cream cheese frosting covered in coconut flakes enrobes the moistest sponge in existence.
From Salon ● May 7, 2024
Old-man’s beard lichen is completely surprising, too, draped from tree branches in the moistest forests.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2022
Better yet, the juices will have redistributed and you'll be looking at the tenderest, moistest turkey of your life.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2021
May we not recognise in this the hand of bounteous Providence, which has given perhaps the most stony soil in Europe to the moistest climate in it?
From A Tour in Ireland 1776-1779 by Henry Morley
A. Because it contains in it the moistest parts of the living creature: and also that the brain may be defended thereby, as with a shield.
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.
