distill

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verb dis·till \di-ˈstil\

variants: or less commonly

distil

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

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

Good City Brewing (2108 N. Farwell Ave., 414-539-4343) distills all the pieces of modern craft brewing into one brewery and taproom.

— josh noel, chicagotribune.com, "Late to the craft beer scene, Milwaukee's small brewers are a big hit", 1 June 2017
The Memorial weekend sort of distills down what audiences thought of the May lineup.

— mark olsen, latimes.com, "'Pirates' takes down the beach bodies of 'Baywatch' at the holiday box office", 29 May 2017
Played with a sort of oblong pointy ball, the game has a series of complicated rules that EA will attempt to distill down into a videogame played with a standard non-motion controller.

— chris kohler, WIRED, "Breaking: EA Sports Creating New ‘Football’ Game", 20 July 2010

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

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

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

DISTILL Defined for English Language Learners

distill

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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

DISTILL Defined for Kids

distill

play

verb dis·till \di-ˈstil\

variants: also

distil

\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

noun

Medical Dictionary

distill

verb dis·till

variants: also

distil

\dis-ˈtil\play

Medical Definition of distill

distilled

;

distilling

1
transitive verb

: to subject to or transform by distillation

2: 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