douse

1 of 4

verb (1)

variants or less commonly dowse
doused also dowsed; dousing also dowsing

transitive verb

1
: to plunge into water
Blanch the green beans then douse them in a bath of ice water.
2
a
: to throw a liquid on : drench
The books were doused in gasoline and set ablaze.
doused herself in perfume
b
: slosh
3
[originally in argot use (douse the glim meaning "extinguish the light") and perhaps of distinct origin] : extinguish
douse the lights
douse the blaze

intransitive verb

: to fall or become plunged into water
douser noun
or less commonly dowser

douse

2 of 4

noun (1)

: a heavy drenching
a douse of cold water
British

douse

4 of 4

verb (2)

doused; dousing

transitive verb

1
nautical
a
: to take in : lower, strike
douse a sail
b
: slacken
douse a rope
2
: take off, doff
doused his hat

Examples of douse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
In the film’s terrifying climax, Carrie is humiliated at a high school dance when nasty classmate Chris (Nancy Allen) douses her with a bucket of a pig's blood just as she’s crowned prom queen. Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024 Klee and Cohen got a boost from a viral social media phenomenon in 2014 that involved people dousing themselves or others with ice water and filming it to raise money for ALS. Daniel Gilbert, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 But Republican leadership doused out any hope, as annual bills on regulation, decriminalization and medical marijuana died without hearings. Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Mar. 2024 Surveillance video showed a woman whose face was obscured by a hoodie and surgical mask breaking in and dousing the floors with a gasoline can. Kate Zernike, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024 Much like on film sets, an elaborate sprinkler system doused the runway with sheets of rain. Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 2 Mar. 2024 Law enforcement officials believe the man started a livestream, set his phone down and then doused himself in accelerant and ignited the flames. Michael Balsamo, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2024 The first round of rain began across central California early Saturday evening and doused Santa Barbara County Saturday night. Ashley R. Williams, Elliana Hebert and Sara Tonks, CNN, 18 Feb. 2024 My actual teen years in Minneapolis were wild and doused in, well, vodka. Holly Solem, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2024
Noun
With thick smoke from burning bales of hay hanging over parts of Belgian capital, security forces used water cannons to douse fires and keep a farmer from felling a tree on the steps of the European Parliament. Raf Casert, Fortune Europe, 1 Feb. 2024 Greece’s state broadcaster ERT aired footage showing a yellow aircraft releasing water to douse burning trees before appearing to crash and burst into flames. Ellen Francis, Washington Post, 26 July 2023 For the sixth day in a row, firefighters were battling on Sunday to douse blazes on the Greek island of Rhodes that have trapped thousands of tourists and locals, forcing many to spend the night in hotel lobbies, gymnasiums, schools or boats docked at the port. Niki Kitsantonis, New York Times, 24 July 2023 The military has used them in foams to help douse fires that involve oil. Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 23 June 2023 The raging fire — in the 11400 block of Nardin Park, north of I-96 and Grand River — broke out at about 6:30 a.m. and took nearly four hours to douse, Detroit Fire Chief James Harris said. Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 30 Mar. 2023 Even the New York-style dogs, made with chuck that chef Logan Gates butchers from the cow, stuffs into a casing and douses in mustard and sauerkraut on a soft split-top bun from Old School Bakery in Delray Beach. Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2023 My favorite choice here was the Straight Up burger which started with a toasted bun, a smash burger-style patty with cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles and a good douse of Fieri’s signature Donkey Sauce, which is essentially garlic aioli. Megan Dubois, Chron, 31 Dec. 2022 In between soccer drills and physical and mental health sessions, campers cool off with a douse of water. Khalin Kapoor, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'douse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

of obscure origin

Note: 16th-century douse "to strike, inflict a blow on" — see douse entry 3 may be related but is remote in sense

Noun (1)

noun derivative of douse entry 1

Noun (2)

noun derivative of earlier douse "to strike, inflict a blow on," akin by borrowing or descent to Middle Dutch dossen "to strike, shove," Early Modern Dutch doesen, German dialect dusen, tusen, tausen

Verb (2)

perhaps sense extensions of earlier douse "to strike, inflict a blow on" — more at douse entry 3

First Known Use

Verb (1)

1566, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

1835, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1625, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of douse was in 1566

Dictionary Entries Near douse

Cite this Entry

“Douse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/douse. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

douse

verb
variants also dowse
ˈdau̇s,
 also  ˈdau̇z
doused also dowsed; dousing also dowsing
1
a
: to stick into water
b
: to throw a liquid on
2
: to put out : extinguish
douse the lights

More from Merriam-Webster on douse

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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