variants
or less commonly dowse
doused also dowsed; dousing also dowsing
1
: to plunge into water
Blanch the green beans then douse them in a bath of ice water.
2
3
[originally in argot use (douse the glim meaning "extinguish the light") and perhaps of distinct origin]
: extinguish
douse the lights
douse the blaze
: to fall or become plunged into water
douser
noun
or less commonly dowser
doused; dousing
Synonyms
Verb (1)
Noun (2)
- bang
- bash
- bat
- beat
- belt
- biff
- blow
- bop
- box
- buffet
- bust
- chop
- clap
- clip
- clout
- crack
- cuff
- dab
- fillip
- hack
- haymaker
- hit
- hook
- knock
- larrup [dialect]
- lash
- lick
- pelt
- pick
- plump
- poke
- pound
- punch
- rap
- slam
- slap
- slug
- smack
- smash
- sock
- spank
- stinger
- stripe
- stroke
- swat
- swipe
- switch
- thud
- thump
- thwack
- wallop
- welt
- whack
- wham
- whop
- whap
Examples of douse in a Sentence
Verb (1)
in those days a gentleman would douse his hat when going indoors
Noun (2)
those soccer hooligans need a sound douse or two from a police officer's club
Recent Examples on the Web
Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2024
As the plane comes to a halt, fire trucks douse the plane with water.
—Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
Their bodies were found inside their van, which had been doused in gasoline and set on fire.
—Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, New York Times, 4 May 2024
In a study published earlier this month, Castro boldly asks: Does dousing acorns with human urine stop mice from eating them?
—Byphie Jacobs, science.org, 27 Mar. 2024
The swabs are doused in a decongestant formula and then swabbed inside each nostril for relief.
—Daley Quinn, Health, 26 Apr. 2024
Storm after storm has doused California, prompting wildflower fanatics earlier this year to cross their fingers for a superbloom.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
In the restaurant’s gilded ice-cream parlor, diners availed themselves of eleven flavors, along with Irish coffee and lemon ice doused in vodka.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
The car Rivera was standing nearby had allegedly been doused in gasoline, the outlets reported.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 2024
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
Verb
For around a week, there was little to no police intervention at Chicago-area campuses, even as schools across the country sent in law enforcement to douse pro-Palestine demonstrations, leading to more than 2,400 arrests nationwide.
—Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2024
As the plane comes to a halt, fire trucks douse the plane with water.
—Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
Their bodies were found inside their van, which had been doused in gasoline and set on fire.
—Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, New York Times, 4 May 2024
In a study published earlier this month, Castro boldly asks: Does dousing acorns with human urine stop mice from eating them?
—Byphie Jacobs, science.org, 27 Mar. 2024
The swabs are doused in a decongestant formula and then swabbed inside each nostril for relief.
—Daley Quinn, Health, 26 Apr. 2024
Storm after storm has doused California, prompting wildflower fanatics earlier this year to cross their fingers for a superbloom.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
In the restaurant’s gilded ice-cream parlor, diners availed themselves of eleven flavors, along with Irish coffee and lemon ice doused in vodka.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
The car Rivera was standing nearby had allegedly been doused in gasoline, the outlets reported.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near douse
Cite this Entry
“Douse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/douse. Accessed 15 May. 2024.
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