puddle

[ puhd-l ]
See synonyms for: puddlepuddledpuddling on Thesaurus.com

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

  2. a small pool of any liquid.

  1. 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),pud·dled, pud·dling.
  1. to mark or scatter with puddles.

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

  1. to make (water) muddy or dirty.

  2. to muddle or confuse.

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

  4. to cover with pasty clay or puddle.

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

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

  7. 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),pud·dled, pud·dling.
  1. to wade in a puddle: The children were puddling.

  2. to be or become puddled: The backyard was puddling.

Origin of puddle

1
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

Other words from puddle

  • puddler, noun
  • puddly, adjective
  • un·pud·dled, adjective

Words Nearby puddle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use puddle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for puddle

puddle

/ (ˈpʌdəl) /


noun
  1. a small pool of water, esp of rain

  2. a small pool of any liquid

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

  2. 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

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

  2. (intr) to mess about

Origin of puddle

1
C14 podel, diminutive of Old English pudd ditch, of obscure origin

Derived forms of puddle

  • puddler, noun
  • puddly, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012