Definition of distill
distilled
;distilling
transitive verb
1 : to let fall, exude, or precipitate (see 1precipitate 3b) in drops or in a wet mist some caves are dry, others distill water from invisible rifts — Norman Douglas
2a : to purify or transform (a liquid) by successive evaporation and condensation : to subject to or transform by distillation distill molasses into rumb : to obtain by or as if by distillation distill whiskey able to distill humor from personal lossc : to extract the essence of : concentrate distill the experience into a poem
intransitive verb
1a : to fall or materialize in drops or in a fine moistureb : to appear slowly or in small quantities at a time
2a : to undergo distillationb : to perform distillation
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Examples of distill in a Sentence
They distill the whiskey from malted barley.
He has perfectly distilled the meaning of the holiday into a poem.
Recent Examples of distill from the Web
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But a quarterback’s win-loss record often doesn’t accurately distill performance.
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At summits such as the G-20, negotiators hammer out a final statement that is supposed to distill consensus and set policy directions for the many countries and organizations that have come together.
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Their advice distills down to a few first principles: 1.
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The second-best offense in the league—and one of the better offenses in NBA history—just built out its options in a way that should distill its greatest talents.
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Those disparate options appeared to distill towards the middle path when Boston elected to trade down and select Jayson Tatum, banking an extra future first round pick.
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In principle, another pair of entangled communication qubits can be used to distill some more.
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There will be mere days if not hours to distill the contents and effects of the secret bill to the public before senators cast their final votes.
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Television tends to distill complex issues into simpler forms, while the use of violence as an approach to solving problems is glorified.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'distill.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of distill
Middle English distillen, from Anglo-French distiller, from Late Latin distillare, alteration of Latin destillare, from de- + stillare to drip, from stilla drop
DISTILL Defined for English Language Learners
distill
playDefinition of distill for English Language Learners
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: to make (a liquid) pure by heating it until it becomes a gas and then cooling it until it is a liquid again : to purify (a liquid) by distillation
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: to make (a strong alcoholic drink) by using this process
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: to take the most important parts of something and put them in a different and usually improved form
DISTILL Defined for Kids
distill
playdistil
\di-ˈstil\Definition of distill for Students
distilled
;distilling
: to make (a liquid) pure by heating it until it becomes a gas and then cooling it until it becomes a liquid distill water
distiller
nounMedical Dictionary
distill
Medical Definition of distill
distilled
;distilling
1
transitive verb
: to subject to or transform by distillation2: to obtain by or as if by distillation
3: to obtain an extract from (as a plant) by infusion and distillation making medicines by distilling herbs
1
intransitive verb
: to undergo distillation2: to condense or drop from a still after distillation
Learn More about distill
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See words that rhyme with distill Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for distill Spanish Central: Translation of distill Nglish: Translation of distill for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of distill for Arabic speakers
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