douse

verb
/daʊs/

Etymology

From Middle English duschen, dusshen (“to rush, fall”), related to Norwegian dusa (“to break, cast down from”), Old Dutch doesen (“to beat, strike”), dialectal German tusen, dusen (“to strike, run against, collide”), Saterland Frisian dössen (“to strike”). Compare doss, dust.

  1. derived from duschen

Definitions

  1. To plunge suddenly into water

    To plunge suddenly into water; to duck; to immerse.

    • Set fire to your matches! / Douse them in gasoline!
  2. To fall suddenly into water.

    • swing i' th'air, or douse in water
  3. To put out

    To put out; to extinguish.

    • The man who doused the fire was told to put the remainder of the coal into the bucket and then give the bucket to the soldier.
    • Once you feel confident in your visualizations, you may douse the candle by blowing it out.
    • Now he rushed to the platform edge carrying a full fire bucket, in a forlorn attempt to douse the flames as the now brightly burning wagon rolled past.
  4. + 5 more definitions
    1. A sudden plunging into water.

      • In winter a douse in cold water helps the looks and adds to the style of the carcass, but they should be thoroughly dried before packing.
    2. To strike, beat, or thrash.

    3. To strike or lower in haste

      To strike or lower in haste; to slacken suddenly

      • Douse the topsail!
    4. A blow or strike, especially to the face.

    5. A surname.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for douse. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA