Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words
1

souse

play
verb \ˈsau̇s\

Definition of souse

soused

;

sousing
  1. transitive verb

  2. 1 :  pickle

  3. 2a :  to plunge in liquid :  immerseb :  drench, saturate

  4. 3 :  to make drunk

  5. intransitive verb

  6. :  to become immersed or drenched

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-5991e113c97b3
Trending: Trump Calls Racism 'Repugnant'
alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder
time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Origin and Etymology of souse

Middle English, from Anglo-French suz, souce pickling juice, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German sulza brine, Old English sealt salt

2

souse

noun

Definition of souse

  1. 1 :  something pickled; especially :  seasoned and chopped pork trimmings, fish, or shellfish

  2. 2 :  an act of sousing :  wetting

  3. 3a :  a habitual drunkardb :  a drinking spree :  binge

Examples of souse in a Sentence

  1. an old souse who lumbered home with a full bottle of gin in him every night

First Known Use of souse

14th century

souse Synonyms

Synonyms
alcoholic, alkie (or alky) [slang], boozehound, boozer, dipsomaniac, drinker, drunkard, inebriate, juicehead [slang], juicer [slang], lush, rummy, soak, soaker, sot, drunk, tippler, toper, tosspot
Related Words
swigger, swiller; wino
Near Antonyms
abstainer, nondrinker, teetotaler (or teetotaller), teetotalist

Other Alcoholic Beverage Terms

finish, gimlet, mull, sake, setup, sommelier, syllabub, vintner, wassail

3

souse

verb

Definition of souse

soused

;

sousing
  1. intransitive verb

  2. archaic :  to swoop down :  plunge

  3. transitive verb

  4. archaic :  to swoop down on

Origin and Etymology of souse

Middle English souce, noun, start of a bird's flight, alteration of sours, probably from Anglo-French surse source — more at source

Learn More about souse

  1. See words that rhyme with souse Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for souse

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up souse? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

perfunctory

play

done merely as a duty

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  2. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

  3. bereft "Lacking something needed, wanted, or expected"

  4. impanel "To choose people to serve on a jury"

  5. cosmopolitan "Worldly"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

souse

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

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

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

dog-covering-face
Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

image1458426927
Food Words for Strong Flavors

A tasting menu of vivid flavor descriptions

alt-5993066a3afad
What's the Plural of 'Maitre d''?

Use this word to confuse a French speaker.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Citation
Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game
Examples: souse in a Sentence