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:
Water vapor tracking simulations showed that the dipole circulation directed moist air from the midlatitude Indian Ocean toward East Antarctica and allowed more atmospheric rivers to reach the continent.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
Thunderstorms are caused by what is known as convective activity, where moist air close to the ground warms rapidly and rises quickly.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
It was dark and deeply moist, a little earthy without tasting particularly of vegetables, and studded throughout with hunks of chocolate.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
Meanwhile, the region’s sticky humidity is thanks to an airflow pattern bringing moist, tropical air to Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
The air in the room was warm and moist, with too many people in it competing for the oxygen from the air.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
As it has shifted slightly further north and to the east, the result has been a south-easterly airflow causing hotter and moister air to spread into the UK.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
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
If you add honey instead of regular sugar in baked goods, keep in mind that honey imparts a softer, moister texture.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2024
As for livestock, Eurasian sheep made it possible to extend food production to arid areas of Australia unsuitable for agriculture, and Eurasian cattle joined crops in moister areas.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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
They do well alike in mountain pastures and amid the herbage of the moistest plainland.
From Domesticated Animals Their Relation to Man and to his Advancement in Civilization by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
The third is, the hygroscope, moving the punch, which shews the difference between the moistest and driest airs.
From The Introduction of Self-Registering Meteorological Instruments by Robert P. Multhauf
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.
