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definitions

sizzle

[ siz-uhl ]
/ ˈsɪz əl /
||
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verb (used without object), siz·zled, siz·zling.

to make a hissing sound, as in frying or burning.
Informal. to be very hot: It's sizzling out.
Informal. to be very angry; harbor deep resentment: I'm still sizzling over that insult.

verb (used with object), siz·zled, siz·zling.

to fry or burn with or as if with a hissing sound: to sizzle steaks on the grill; The sun sizzles the pavement.

noun

a sizzling sound.

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RELATED WORDS

grill, sear, crackle, fizzle, roast, sputter, broil, brown, swish, spit, whisper, sibilate, whiz, buzz, cook, wheeze, fizz, frizzle

Nearby words

  1. sized,
  2. sizeism,
  3. sizer,
  4. sizing,
  5. sizy,
  6. sizzler,
  7. sizzling,
  8. siècle,
  9. siècle d'or,
  10. sj

Origin of sizzle

1595–1605; imitative; see -le
Related formssiz·zler, nounsiz·zling·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sizzle

British Dictionary definitions for sizzle

sizzle

/ (ˈsɪzəl) /

verb (intr)

to make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat
informal to be very hot
informal to be very angry

noun

a hissing sound

Word Origin for sizzle

C17: of imitative origin. Compare siss (now dialect) to hiss, West Frisian size, siizje. See also fizz and fizzle
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
Word Origin and History for sizzle

sizzle

v.

c.1600, "to burn with a hissing sound," perhaps a frequentative form of Middle English sissen "hiss, buzz" (c.1300), of imitative origin. The figurative sense is attested from 1859. Related: Sizzled; sizzling. The noun is first recorded 1823.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper