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.

---

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

---

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

Example Sentences

Early on Friday, water-pumping trucks were seen around Dubai clearing blocked roads and large puddles in the streets.

From Barron's

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

"I don't want to be taking it through big puddles of water, and I've neglected it once. I'm not going to do that again."

From BBC

“This makes every sniff of holiday activity — foot traffic, discount depth, card authorizations — disproportionately important. In a data desert, even a puddle looks like a lake.”

From MarketWatch

Damage was caused to a 500-year-old ruined castle after a visitor used part of a wall to make stepping stones across a large puddle.

From BBC

Related Words

• pond