Mildew

//ˈmɪl.d(j)u// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A growth of minute powdery or webby fungi, whitish or of different colors, found on various diseased or decaying substances. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    a fungus that produces a superficial (usually white) growth on organic matter wordnet
  3. 3
    the process of becoming mildewed wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To taint with mildew. transitive

    "Hee giues the Web and the Pin, ſquints the eye, and makes the Hare‐lippe; Mildewes the white Wheate, and hurts the poore Creature of earth."

  2. 2
    become moldy; spoil due to humidity wordnet
  3. 3
    To become tainted with mildew. intransitive

    "His bald purplish head now looked for all the world like a mildewed skull."

Synonyms

All synonyms
moldbiodegradabilitybiodegradationblastblightbreak up

Example

More examples

"Move the clothes from the washer to the dryer before they start to mildew."

Etymology

From Middle English myldew, from Old English meledēaw, mildēaw, from Proto-West Germanic *milidauw, from *mili (“honey”) + *dauw (“dew”). Compare West Frisian moaldau, Dutch meeldauw, German Mehltau. More at dew.

Related phrases

downy mildewpowdery mildewwheat mildew

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.