puddle

pud·dle | \ ˈpə-dᵊl

How to pronounce puddle (audio)

\

Definition of puddle

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a very small pool of usually dirty or muddy water

2a : an earthy mixture (as of clay, sand, and gravel) worked while wet into a compact mass that becomes impervious to water when dry

b : a thin mixture of soil and water for puddling plants

puddle

puddled; puddling\ ˈpəd-liŋ

How to pronounce puddling (audio)

, ˈpə-dᵊl-iŋ \

Definition of puddle (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to dabble or wade around in a puddle

transitive verb

1 : to make muddy or turbid : muddle

2a : to work (a wet mixture of earth or concrete) into a dense impervious mass

b : to subject (iron) to the process of puddling

3a : to strew with puddles

b : to compact (soil) especially by working when too wet

c : to dip the roots of (a plant) in a thin mud before transplanting

Other Words from puddle Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about puddle

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of puddle in a Sentence

Noun She accidentally stepped in a puddle and got her shoes wet. After the storm, the road was covered in deep puddles.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The Levoit does have the same drawbacks as other ultrasonic humidifiers, requiring it to sit on a table or shelf to prevent the mist from forming puddles on the floor. — Paige Szmodis, Popular Mechanics, "Breathe Easier With One of These 8 Best Humidifiers," 13 Sep. 2019 The smoke clears revealing a puddle of smouldering slag where the throne once stood. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Game of Thrones Finale Script Reveals Why Drogon Burned the Iron Throne Down," 1 Aug. 2019 The smoke clears revealing a puddle of smouldering slag where the throne once stood. — Adam Epstein, Quartzy, "The weirdest parts of the “Game of Thrones” finale script," 1 Aug. 2019 James Clairmont allegedly accelerated toward a group of 11 ducklings playing with their mother in a puddle on the road A Florida man has been accused of running over a group of ducklings, killing two, on purpose. — Harriet Sokmensuer, PEOPLE.com, "Florida Man Charged With Intentionally Running Over Group of Ducklings Playing in a Puddle," 14 Aug. 2019 Behind them, two ducks were also enjoying the sunshine, coasting along the surface of an enormous puddle that never seems to recede. — Sharon Otterman, New York Times, "Flooding in Riverside Park: Good for Ducks. Bad for Amtrak Trains Below?," 21 July 2019 Dry weather turns to rain, leaving puddles on the asphalt. — Carole Naggar, The New York Review of Books, "Framing Time: Guy Tillim’s African Street Photography," 25 May 2019 But what the teaser video shows is a Minecraft pig wallowing on a mud puddle on a Seattle sidewalk. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Microsoft's augmented reality Minecraft tease is a reminder of its world-shattering HoloLens demo," 6 May 2019 The cabeza, a milky puddle of succulent steamed head meat, might be even better. — Dominic Armato, azcentral, "First Bite: This new Roosevelt Row taco shop is bringing killer carne asada to downtown Phoenix," 16 Dec. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Feldman also hates curtains that are too short or too puddled on the floor. — Washington Post, "Professional decorators spill their 12 design pet peeves," 22 Oct. 2019 Floodwaters regularly puddled on her street, in her neighbor’s yards and came all the way up to her door. — Alex Harris, sun-sentinel.com, "Her new Boynton Beach house floods. Under Texas law, she would have been warned, but not in Florida.," 28 Oct. 2019 Floodwaters regularly puddled on her street, in her neighbor’s yards and came all the way up to her door. — Alex Harris, orlandosentinel.com, "Florida doesn’t require home sellers to reveal flooding history," 28 Oct. 2019 Blood had puddled on a cardboard mat near his mouth. — Steve Lopezcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, "Column: He died homeless and alone, but his wife had never lost hope he’d return.," 7 Sep. 2019 Souvenirs from his time include a fortune worth of silk window treatments — draped, swagged, fringed, puddled or ballooned — that reach past 20 feet tall in the living room. — Judy Rose, Detroit Free Press, "$2.35M Bloomfield Hills home comes with 2 kitchens and a tree house," 29 June 2019 Three different kinds of cheese, freshly snipped basil, and sweet tomato sauce puddled with olive oil. — Keith Flanagan, Condé Nast Traveler, "19 Best Places for Pizza in New York City," 1 Mar. 2018 Cast-iron-roasted chicken took a familiar comfort to a new level, the bird’s tawny skin drizzled with rich jus that puddled into potato gnocchi flecked with Cabot cheddar. — Craig Laban, Philly.com, "Craig LaBan's first bite of the Delaware beaches | A dining guide," 15 June 2018 Scientists calculate that up to 250 million beaver ponds once puddled the continent—impounding enough water to submerge Washington, Oregon, and California. — Ben Goldfarb, Science | AAAS, "Beaver dams without beavers? Artificial logjams are a popular but controversial restoration tool," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'puddle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about puddle

Dictionary Entries near puddle

Statistics for puddle

Last Updated

16 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Puddle.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puddle. Accessed 22 January 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

nurture

to help to grow, develop, or succeed

Test Your Vocabulary

Intact Latin Quiz

What did focus mean in Latin?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.