moisture
Americannoun
-
moistures
plural
-
condensed or diffused liquid, especially water.
moisture in the air.
-
a small quantity of liquid, especially water; enough liquid to moisten.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of moisture
1325–75; Middle English; see moist, -ure; compare Middle French moistour
Explanation
Moisture is the feeling of wetness — what you want in your cupcake but not in your diapers. Moisture is the noun related to the adjective moist, which you might use to describe damp soil, clammy air, or melt-in-your-mouth desserts. Moisture has also been known to promote mold growth and frizz otherwise tame hair, so it doesn't have many fans — other than tropical plants and the very thirsty.
Vocabulary lists containing moisture
Holes
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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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"Brothers in Hope"
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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.
See Examples For:
Biological activity in soil is also strongly influenced by temperature and moisture.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
That moisture is being pulled northward by an upper-level trough — a low-pressure area in the atmosphere — and the resulting instability may produce thunderstorms and showers, she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
By the end of July, half of the continent was affected, with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia all reporting record low soil moisture levels.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Horton, the country’s largest home builder, faces litigation involving thousands of Louisiana homeowners who say shoddy building practices failed to keep out moisture, leading to widespread mold growth in their homes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
I watched with alarm as my sweater accumulated hundreds of tiny beads of moisture, which gradually began to penetrate the fabric and join the dampness of the shirt beneath.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
“The fuel moistures would have been too high, and the fire wouldn't have carried.”
From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2025
The effects of the current drought might not be immediately apparent, especially in Western Washington, but the symptoms can be seen in below-average stream flows, low reservoir levels and dry soil moistures, Bond said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2023
“We won’t have to worry about any significant fire danger in most situations for a while because fuel moistures are coming back up,” Sweet said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2021
“The higher the fuel moistures, the tougher it is for fire to ignite and spread.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2021
For moistures in these twain Are near akin.
From On the Nature of Things by William Ellery Leonard
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.
