less common spelling of douse
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
Examples of dowse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Al Mullen, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2022
When a fire broke out, firemen would often dig down, drill a hole in the wood pipe, then bail or pump water out of the pit to dowse the fire.
—Spike Carlsen, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Nov. 2020
Water your potted mums from below the flowers and foliage rather than dowsing the whole thing with a blasting overhead shower.
—Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 20 Oct. 2017
There were drug addicts and alcoholics and women who dowsed their cleaning rags with disinfectant and huffed those poisonous and intoxicating fumes into their lungs.
—Sherman Alexie, The New Yorker, 5 June 2017
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Verb
All of you are gonna get down and dowse the ground for potable drinking water.
—Al Mullen, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2022
When a fire broke out, firemen would often dig down, drill a hole in the wood pipe, then bail or pump water out of the pit to dowse the fire.
—Spike Carlsen, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Nov. 2020
Water your potted mums from below the flowers and foliage rather than dowsing the whole thing with a blasting overhead shower.
—Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 20 Oct. 2017
There were drug addicts and alcoholics and women who dowsed their cleaning rags with disinfectant and huffed those poisonous and intoxicating fumes into their lungs.
—Sherman Alexie, The New Yorker, 5 June 2017
Cite this Entry
“Dowse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dowse. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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