puddle

American  

[puhd-l] / ˈpʌd 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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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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

Etymology

Origin of puddle

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

Explanation

A puddle is a small pool, such as one that forms on a sidewalk after a rain shower. A little boy with new rain boots might decide to jump in every puddle he sees on his way to school. It's charming to see a puddle on a brick walkway or to watch a duck wash itself in a puddle. It's less charming to find a puddle in your basement after three days of rain. You can use puddle as a verb, too, to say, "I'm watching your cereal milk puddle in the middle of the table and wondering when you're planning to clean it up." Puddle comes from the Old English pudd, "ditch or furrow."

Example Sentences

Those roles sometimes conflict — as they did at Lake Mendocino, which dried to a mud puddle during the 2012–16 drought.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

You want something that sits up in the spoon, not something that sighs into a puddle.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

In the nearby Lallays reservoir, dozens of camels graze on wild plants, but not a single puddle remains.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

When she hits, she’s hilarious: An extended bit about leaving a puddle of her perspiration on a piece of gym equipment involves James Cameron developing a submersible to get to the bottom of it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

A puddle of water in the bottom soaked her dress-cloth.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Related Words

• pond