puddle

[puhd-l]

noun

1. a small pool of water, as of rainwater on the ground.

2. a small pool of any liquid.

3. clay or the like mixed with water and tempered, used as a waterproof lining for the walls of canals, ditches, etc.

verb (used with object)

puddled, puddling 

1. to mark or scatter with puddles.

2. to wet with dirty water, mud, etc.

3. to make (water) muddy or dirty.

4. to muddle or confuse.

5. to make (clay or the like) into puddle.

6. to cover with pasty clay or puddle.

7. Metallurgy.,  to subject (molten iron) to the process of puddling.

8. to destroy the granular structure of (soil) by agricultural operations on it when it is too wet.

9. Horticulture.,  to dip the roots of (a tree, shrub, etc.) into a thin mixture of loam and water to retard drying out during transplanting.

verb (used without object)

puddled, puddling 

1. to wade in a puddle.

   The children were puddling.

2. to be or become puddled.

   The backyard was puddling.

puddle

/ ˈpʌdəl /

noun

1. a small pool of water, esp of rain

2. a small pool of any liquid

3. a worked mixture of wet clay and sand that is impervious to water and is used to line a pond or canal

4. rowing the patch of eddying water left by the blade of an oar after completion of a stroke

verb

1. (tr) to make (clay, etc) into puddle

2. (tr) to subject (iron) to puddling

3. (intr) to dabble or wade in puddles, mud, or shallow water

4. (intr) to mess about

Other Word Forms

• puddler noun
• puddly adjective
• unpuddled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of puddle¹

1300–50; (noun) Middle English puddel, podel, pothel, apparently diminutive of Old English pudd ditch, furrow (akin to Low German pudel puddle); (v.) late Middle English pothelen, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of puddle¹

C14 podel, diminutive of Old English pudd ditch, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Across the room Pages stood in an expanding puddle of champagne, clutching a handful of Budweiser bottles as teammates took turns pouring beer over this head.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Holger Rune, one of the world’s best tennis players, was in Shanghai this month, sitting on court in a puddle of his own sweat, when he turned to the chair umpire in bewilderment.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

With judicious trimming, particularly of the occasional puddle of expository or repetitive dialogue, the play would gain a tauter pace.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Pierre said the air conditioning in his unit didn’t work for two months, causing water to puddle on the floor.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Homes are crumbling, open drains line the narrow lanes and a stagnant puddle near the local temple has turned brackish.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• pond