mist

¹

[mist]

noun

1. a cloudlike aggregation of minute globules of water suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface, reducing visibility to a lesser degree than fog.

2. a cloud of particles resembling this.

   She sprayed a mist of perfume onto her handkerchief.

3. something that dims, obscures, or blurs.

   the mist of ignorance.

4. a haze before the eyes that dims the vision.

   a mist of tears.

5. a suspension of a liquid in a gas.

6. a drink of liquor served over cracked ice.

7. a fine spray produced by a vaporizer to add moisture to the air for breathing.

verb (used without object)

1. to become misty.

2. to rain in very fine drops; drizzle (usually used impersonally with it as subject).

   It was misting when they went out for lunch.

verb (used with object)

1. to make misty.

2. to spray (plants) with a finely diffused jet of water, as a means of replacing lost moisture.

mist.

²

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) a mixture.

mist

/ mɪst /

noun

1. a thin fog resulting from condensation in the air near the earth's surface

2. meteorol such an atmospheric condition with a horizontal visibility of 1–2 kilometres

3. a fine spray of any liquid, such as that produced by an aerosol container

4. chem a colloidal suspension of a liquid in a gas

5. condensed water vapour on a surface that blurs the surface

6. something that causes haziness or lack of clarity, such as a film of tears

verb

1. to cover or be covered with or as if with mist

mist

1. A mass of fine droplets of water in the atmosphere near or in contact with the Earth. Mist reduces visibility to not less than 1 km (0.62 mi).

2. Compare fog

Other Word Forms

• mistless adjective
• demist verb (used with object)
• undermist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mist¹

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch, Low German, Swedish mist; akin to Greek omíchlē “fog,” Russian mgla “mist,” Sanskrit megha “cloud”; (verb) Middle English misten, Old English mistian, derivative of the noun

Origin of mist²

From the Latin word mistūra

Word History and Origins

Origin of mist¹

Old English; related to Middle Dutch, Swedish mist, Greek omikhlē fog

Synonym Study

See cloud.

Example Sentences

An initial search involving Inverness coastguard helicopter was made in mist and fog in difficult terrain, before the bodies were found the following day.

From BBC

When the red mist of fighting finally lifted, there wasn’t much left of the agency.

From Salon

Nor does he buy into some of the other theories put forward for the Calvine photo: that it is a mountain peeking through mist or something reflected on water.

From BBC

The carcasses were discovered by local firefighter Daniel Elves, who was walking his dogs when the animals "loomed out of the mist".

From BBC

Hiccup and Toothless soar above a landscape so littered with distracting details — rocks and sun-dappled waves and scraps of mist — that we long for the simple beauty of a stark black dragon in the sky.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cloud 
• dew 
• drizzle 
• fog 
• moisture 
• rain 
• smog 
• steam 

When To Use

What else does mist mean?

Content warning: this article references illicit drugs.A mist is, literally speaking, a cloud of fine liquid droplets, but in slang it can variously refer to drugs and the experience of being on them. Mist can also be an alternative spelling or misspelling of missed.