puddle

American  

[puhd-l] / ˈpʌd l /

noun

• puddles
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• puddler
  noun
• puddly
  adjective
• unpuddled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• puddles
  plural

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

See Examples For:

puddle puddles puddled puddling

But with summer heat waves, the window between culinary treasure and golden puddle has never been narrower.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

"The scientists told us if a dog ran through a puddle the dog could die because of the levels of the chemicals in the soil," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

“Any time Lenore says the word ‘sugah,’ it just makes me melt into a puddle on the floor,” Winderbaum says, laughing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

As we watched the group wander about, a female capybara waded into a mud puddle along the truck path and rolled around happily.

From Slate ● May 27, 2026

From the puddle in the alleyway a row of paw prints led to the street.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

As access reopened mid-morning, AFP saw the blackened remains of several burnt-out cars along roads near Omis, some ringed by silver puddles of metal that had melted under the intense heat of the fires.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

They believe this was connected to the wet weather and some potholes looking like puddles.

From BBC ● May 4, 2026

This is most clearly shown in Gene Kelly’s dance in the rain where he stomps in puddles and spins his umbrella.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026

Before you drain, save the pasta water — that cloudy starch is what turns chopped olives and warm oil into a sauce that clings instead of puddles.

From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2026

That way we’d have water and electricity in the End of Days, when everyone else was drinking from puddles and living in darkness.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Storm water still puddled on the street, with little drainage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2023

In this case, it was puddled onto a platter with some lime-spiked sour cream, then topped with grilled mushrooms and onions.

From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2022

As rain poured and puddled on the sideline at Ross-Ade Stadium, the Purdue mascot dared the cheerleader to jump into the water.

From Fox News ● Oct. 2, 2021

Weller said he had not eaten anything during his ordeal but sipped water puddled on rocks, using grass as a straw, Nattapat said.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 3, 2021

Her eyes were puddled up and red rimmed.

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson

"There have been numerous local measurements and theoretical discussions regarding the effects of water puddling on ice albedo," Kaczmarowski said.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 15, 2024

“There’s obviously a lot of puddling in the fairways. We’re in a pretty low area here. But the greens held up.”

From Washington Times ● May 6, 2022

I have no actual evidence of puddling editors, but no matter.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 5, 2021

"There's plenty of puddling and stuff already," he said, "so I just assume that we're probably going to get a taste of what we had a couple weeks ago."

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2017

I turn to see Levi’s chocolate milk puddling across the table.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

Related Words

• pond