What does "dew" mean?
Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces.
Dew
/d͡ʒuː/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces.
- Grammar: dew is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: asperge, bedew, bedewed, bespatter.
- Useful contrasts: aridity, barrenness, dryness.
- Usage evidence: The hut kept the rain and dew out after a fashion.
How to use "dew"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dew" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dew" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dew" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dew" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dew" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "asperge" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dew", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces. uncountable
- 2 Acronym of Distant Early Warning. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
- 3 Initialism of directed-energy weapon. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 water that has condensed on a cool surface overnight from water vapor in the air wordnet
- 5 Moisture in the air that settles on plants, etc in the morning or evening, resulting in drops. uncountable
"And Gideon said vnto God, If thou wilt saue Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Beholde, I will put a fleece of wooll in the floore: and if the deaw be on the fleece onely, and it bee drie vpon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt saue Israel by my hande, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose vp early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the deaw out of the fleece, a bowle full of water. And Gideon said vnto God, Let not thine anger be hote against me, and I will speake but this once: Let mee prooue, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece. Let it now be drie onely vpon the fleece, and vpon all the ground let there be deaw. And God did so that night: for it was drie vpon the fleece onely, and there was deaw on all the ground."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 An instance of such moisture settling on plants, etc. countable
"There was a heavy dew this morning."
- 7 Anything that falls lightly and in a refreshing manner. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"the golden dew of sleep"
- 8 An emblem of morning, or fresh vigour. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Thy people ſhalbe willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holineſſe from the wombe of the morning: thou haſt the dew of thy youth."
Verb
- 1 To wet with, or as if with, dew; to moisten. transitive
"The grasses grew / A little ranker since they dewed them so."
- 2 To deposit dew. intransitive
"The former [substances extremely attentuated, or in a filamentous and downly state] collect dew copiously, while the latter [solids] so rarely indicate its presence, even when it is dewing freely on contiguous substances, that some observers have doubted whether it ever happened, and have been disposed to believe that they repel it."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 An unincorporated community in Freestone County, Texas, United States. countable, uncountable
Antonyms
Example
"The hut kept the rain and dew out after a fashion."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dew"?
Common synonyms include: asperge, bedew, bedewed, bespatter, besprinkle, condensation.
How do you use "dew" in a sentence?
The hut kept the rain and dew out after a fashion.
How do you pronounce "dew"?
Pronounced /d͡ʒuː/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English dew, from Old English dēaw (“dew”), from Proto-West Germanic *dauw, from Proto-Germanic *dawwaz, *dawwą (“dew, moisture”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, haze”). Cognate with German Tau, Dutch dauw and Afrikaans dou. Doublet of dag.
Etymology 2
From Middle English dewe, dewen, from Old English *dēawian, from Proto-West Germanic *dauwēn, from Proto-Germanic *dawwāną. Cognates include Saterland Frisian daue, German tauen and Dutch dauwen.