drool

1 of 2

verb

ˈdrül 

drooled; drooling; drools

intransitive verb

1

a

: to secrete saliva in anticipation of food

The dog hears the bell and begins to drool.

b

: to let saliva dribble from the mouth : drivel sense 2

a drooling baby

2

: to make an effusive show of pleasure or often envious or covetous appreciation

drooling over their new car

3

: to talk nonsense

transitive verb

: to express sentimentally or effusively

drool

2 of 2

noun

1

: saliva trickling from the mouth

wipe the drool from his chin

2

: nonsense

Synonyms

Verb

• dribble
• drivel
• salivate
• slaver
• slobber

Noun

• applesauce [slang]
• balderdash
• baloney
• boloney
• beans
• bilge
• blah
• blah-blah
• blarney
• blather
• blatherskite
• blither
• bosh
• bull [slang]
• bunk
• bunkum
• buncombe
• claptrap
• codswallop [British]
• crapola [slang]
• crock
• drivel
• fiddle
• fiddle-faddle
• fiddlesticks
• flannel [British]
• flapdoodle
• folderol
• falderal
• folly
• foolishness
• fudge
• garbage
• guff
• hogwash
• hokeypokey
• hokum
• hoodoo
• hooey
• horsefeathers [slang]
• humbug
• humbuggery
• jazz
• malarkey
• malarky
• moonshine
• muck
• nerts [slang]
• nonsense
• nuts
• piffle
• poppycock
• punk
• rot
• rubbish
• senselessness
• silliness
• slush
• stupidity
• taradiddle
• tarradiddle
• tommyrot
• tosh
• trash
• trumpery
• twaddle

Examples of drool in a Sentence

Verb

the dog drooled when we put the steak down on the floor

middle-aged men drooling over a starlet half their age

Noun

He wiped the drool from the baby's face.

the only thing more pathetic than the pop psychologist who gushed such drool was the public that lapped it up

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

White had Raiders fans drooling with his Instagram posts, showing off his new body after an offseason spent in the gym. —Tashan Reed, The Athletic, 23 July 2024

But the saucier iterations are what viewers are drooling over on TikTok. —Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024

Noun

Nate Burleson to haters of NFL's promo clip featuring Taylor Swift: 'Wipe the drool off your tank top' Burleson didn't hold back while addressing the critics who decried seeing Swift in an NFL hype video. —Alex Perry, The Enquirer, 6 Sep. 2024

The quick clip shows an angry and feral Xenomorph with dark sharp teeth and lips dripping with drool. —Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

perhaps alteration of drivel

First Known Use

Verb

1802, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

1869, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

drool

verb

ˈdrül

1

: to water at the mouth

2

: to let saliva or some other substance flow from the mouth : drivel

Medical Definition

drool

intransitive verb

ˈdrül 

1

: to secrete saliva in anticipation of food

2

: to let saliva or some other substance flow from the mouth

side effects included drowsiness and drooling

drool noun