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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sizzlesimple
-
sizzlessimple
-
have sizzledperfect
-
has sizzledperfect
-
am sizzlingprogressive
-
are sizzlingprogressive
-
is sizzlingprogressive
-
have been sizzlingperfect progressive
-
has been sizzlingperfect progressive
Past
-
sizzledsimple
-
had sizzledperfect
-
was sizzlingprogressive
-
were sizzlingprogressive
-
had been sizzlingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Sizzle always captures attention, but you should do a more thorough inspection of the Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
From Washington Post • Jan. 25, 2023
The event will feature plant-based food and include T-shirt screen-printing, short films curated by Plastic Pollution Coalition and tunes from Cumbiatón DJs Sizzle Fantastic and Funky Carmelo as well as DJ Suga Shay.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2020
Sizzle reels were heavy with scenes from “The Office,” the enduring sitcom that NBCUniversal wrested from Netflix in a $500 million deal last year.
From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2020
“We all thought Y2K was plunging us into darkness and leprosy,” recalls John Sizzle, of the Glory’s queen bees and a Madonna diehard who claims to have attended every global tour but one.
From The Guardian • Feb. 27, 2018
The beds might not be equal to the Sizzle, but they were clean and decent undoubtedly, and not too hard for a sailor.
From The Sailor by Snaith, J. C.
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.
