sizzle
[siz-uh l]
- 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.
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- to fry or burn with or as if with a hissing sound: to sizzle steaks on the grill; The sun sizzles the pavement.
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- a sizzling sound.
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Origin of sizzle
1595–1605; imitative; see -le
Synonyms
See more synonyms for sizzle on Thesaurus.com1. sputter, spatter, crackle, hiss.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sizzle
Contemporary Examples
Mrs. Clinton gave them just the sizzle they yearned for in a recent interview in The Atlantic.
As soon as everything started to sizzle hard, lots of water was added to the pot along with a small handful of salt.
Two Chickens, an Old Guitar, and a Group of Strangers: A Life-Changing Feast in BrazilAnnabel Langbein
November 29, 2013
It is, on the other hand, a sizzle reel of quotable dialogue.
“That seven-minute sizzle reel got seven TV offers,” Farah remembers.
Indeed, this is not the kind of shop that would appeal to the 50-something woman with a hankering for flash and sizzle.
Fashion of a Certain Age New Website Halsbrook.com Caters to Mature ShoppersRobin Givhan
November 4, 2012
Historical Examples
The stranger broke off an icicle and laid it on the stove to hear it sizzle.
The Fighting ShepherdessCaroline Lockhart
He was slowly being cremated and it was fascinating to watch him sizzle.
In AfricaJohn T. McCutcheon
I still persisted, and he continued to sizzle around at a fierce rate.
Twenty Years of Hus'lingJ. P. Johnston
As she burns the letters the tears fall and sizzle on the hot stove.
The Spirit of the GhettoHutchins Hapgood
He threw it into the fire; and, with a sombre satisfaction, watched it sizzle.
Harlequin and ColumbineBooth Tarkington
sizzle
- to make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat
- informal to be very hot
- informal to be very angry
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- a hissing sound
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for 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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper