sizzle
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
-
to make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat
-
informal to be very hot
-
informal to be very angry
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sizzle
1595–1605; imitative; see -le
Explanation
When things sizzle, they make a sound like the hissing and popping you hear when you fry food in fat. Drop pieces of bacon in a hot pan and they'll sizzle. A grilled cheese sandwich sizzles in melted butter, and veggie burgers sizzle on a hot grill. You can also use sizzle in a figurative way, when it's so hot that you feel like food in a hot pan: "I'm not going to the pool today, I'll sizzle in the heat." This verb dates from about 1600, and it probably comes from the imitative Middle English sissen.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ribeiro leaned into their on-screen chemistry as a family unit when creating a sizzle reel to get financing for the project.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
Tuesday’s Google I/O developer conference failed to pack the sizzle that some investors were hoping for.
From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026
I’ll even be content with something that has the sizzle of last year’s “Sirāt,” which you and I both dug.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
AI “is the sizzle in the restaurant world,” industry reps say.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026
There’s no ticktock of the blinker, no voice of the customer, and no sizzle of the traffic.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
