souse

¹ American  

[saus] / saʊs /

verb (used with object)

soused, sousing

1. to plunge into water or other liquid; immerse.

2. to drench, as with water.

   Synonyms:

   wet, waterlog, soak, saturate, douse

3. to dash or pour, as water.

4. to steep in pickling brine; pickle.

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verb (used without object)

soused, sousing

1. to plunge into water or other liquid.

2. to be soaked or drenched.

3. to be steeping or soaking in something.

noun

1. an act of sousing.

2. something kept or steeped in pickle, especially the head, ears, and feet of a pig.

3. a liquid used as a pickle.

4. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a habitual drinker of alcohol who is frequently intoxicated.

souse ² American  

[saus] / saʊs /

verb (used without object)

soused, sousing

1. to swoop down.

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verb (used with object)

soused, sousing

1. to swoop or pounce upon.

noun

Falconry.

1. a rising while in flight.

2. a swooping or pouncing.

souse ¹ British  

/ saʊs /

verb

1. to plunge (something, oneself, etc) into water or other liquid

2. to drench or be drenched

3. (tr) to pour or dash (liquid) over (a person or thing)

4. to steep or cook (food) in a marinade

5. slang (tr; usually passive) to make drunk

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noun

1. the liquid or brine used in pickling

2. the act or process of sousing

3. slang a habitual drunkard

souse ² British  

/ saʊs /

verb

1. to swoop suddenly downwards (on a prey)

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noun

1. a sudden downward swoop

Etymology

Origin of souse¹

First recorded 1350–1400 and in 1915–20 souse ¹ for def. 11; Middle English noun souce, sows, from Old French souz, sous, souce “pickled (meat),” from Germanic (akin to salt ¹ ); the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of souse²

First recorded in 1350–1400; by-form of source in its earlier literal sense “rising”

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Explanation

When you souse something, you plunge it into water or another liquid. If your little dog gets sprayed by a skunk, you'll want to souse him in a perfumed bubble bath to get the smell out. This word originally meant "plunge into vinegar" or "pickle," and you can still use it that way: "Let's souse these little cucumbers from the garden." The Germanic root of souse is related to pickling, meaning "brine" or "salt." You can also use souse as a noun: "Fido, you stink! Time for a good souse!" These days, it's also commonly used in an informal, figurative way to mean "intoxicated."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

souse soused sousing

Specialty products include beef hot dogs, cocktail sausages and hot or mild souse under the Magnolia brand.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 27, 2018

Baker's hero, Sampson Shillitoe, poet, souse, womanizer and pratfalling Prometheus, might be the worshipful nephew of Joyce Gary's artist-as-an-old-grog, Gulley Jimson.

From Time Magazine Archive

From here on out there are drops, rocks, and souse holes aplenty, but a straightforward line through the melee beckons.

From Time Magazine Archive

The trick is to veer away from souse holes?a vacuum on the downstream side of a boulder?because the swirl can pull the stern down and pop the bow up, propelling passengers into the drink.

From Time Magazine Archive

There was water in a ditch hard by, not very clear; but, the poor creature struggling between life and death, I filled my hat withal, and came flying to souse him.

From The Cloister and the Hearth A Tale of the Middle Ages by Charles Reade

Her main dish was smoked rainbow trout, citrus cured rillette, fried egg, chive mash, soused vegetables and herb butter sauce.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2023

Where they diverge has to do the rough grain Walter assigns to Malory, a quality the stubbornly refined but equally soused Lucille rarely demonstrates.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2021

Previously on music’s biggest night, most everything was played live, which is why bum notes were to the Grammys what soused speeches are to the Golden Globes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2021

A player’s livelihood and legacy shouldn’t depend on a pack of dilettantes with the judgment of a soused house party.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 20, 2016

‘Wake up and go down yourself. Call the cop and let him get soused on the chain gang with cornbread and peas. Go to it, Misses Brannon.’

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

First he took on a whiskered lion’s shape, a serpent then; a leopard; a great boar; then sousing water; then a tall green tree.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

To put a finishing touch to his misfortunes, a great big wave came tumbling in just then, and over poor Gipsey it went! sousing him head and ears!

From Neighbor Nelly Socks Being the Sixth and Last Book of the Series by Sarah L. Barrow

One more glance in the direction of the smoke pall to the westward and in a twinkle every lad had his blanket in hand and was sousing it into the lake.

From The Boy Scout Fire Fighters by Irving Crump

With the wheels sucking and sousing in the mud, the Wadsworth machine moved forward as rapidly as the conditions would permit.

From Dave Porter At Bear Camp or, The Wild Man of Mirror Lake by Walter S. Rogers

He took it in his little hands, went to his water dish, and washed the meat thoroughly, sousing it up and down till it was almost a pulp, before he swallowed it.

From A Northern Countryside by Rosalind Richards

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