distill

verb dis·till \ di-ˈstil \

variants: or less commonly distil

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Examples: distill in a Sentence

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

2 a : to purify or transform (a liquid) by successive evaporation and condensation : to subject to or transform by distillation

distill molasses into rum

b : to obtain by or as if by distillation

distill whiskey

able to distill humor from personal loss

c : to extract the essence of : concentrate

distill the experience into a poem

intransitive verb

1 a : to fall or materialize in drops or in a fine moisture

b : to appear slowly or in small quantities at a time

2 a : to undergo distillation

b : to perform distillation

See distill defined for English-language learners

See distill defined for kids

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

New York artist Shoja Azari distills the sweep of these elements in two video projections, inserting live-action clips of recent political events into a Persian manuscript painting and a coffee-house mural.

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "In Iranian art show at LACMA, the past wrestles with the present," 4 June 2018
Below, nine new summer eaux that distill the scent of freedom into a bottle.

— zoe ruffner, Vogue, "9 Dreamy Fragrances Inspired by Summer’s Greatest Escapes," 1 June 2018
Here are the beautiful brass tanks used to distill the world- famous drink.

— Fox News, "President Trump demands probe of campaign 'spy'," 22 May 2018
While these women distill and humanize these historical events, the play’s first act is dominated by unrelated character exposition.

— pam kragen, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Moxie Theatre's 'Madres' zeroes in on human toll of infamous 'dirty war'," 20 May 2018
Lydia’s speech distills what is so great about Latinx shows about mom-dom.

— refinery29.com, "Latinx Moms Are Giving Us TV’s Best Portrayals Of Motherhood," 11 May 2018
In 2018, the fundamentals are considerably easier to distill.

— harry enten, CNN, "Can Donald Trump continue to defy political gravity?," 5 May 2018
Etched into the front of each cups are the spires of Churchill Downs and a stream of Kentucky limestone water that is famously used to distill Woodford Reserve.

— lyndsey matthews, Town & Country, "What Goes into Making Woodford Reserve's $1,000 Mint Julep for the Kentucky Derby," 3 May 2018
For years, Graves and his staff have given players the day off following the selection show, using those Tuesdays to distill the mountains of information compiled from various sources into a digestible scouting report.

— andrew greif, OregonLive.com, "Oregon Ducks prepared for NCAA Tournament by searching for 'scoops'," 15 Mar. 2018

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

distill Synonyms

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

alkali, cation, decant, hygroscopic, isotope, oxidize, slurry, solute, viscous

DISTILL Defined for English Language Learners

distill

verb

Definition of distill for English Language Learners

: 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
: to make (a strong alcoholic drink) by using this process
: to take the most important parts of something and put them in a different and usually improved form