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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

moist.

Characterized by the presence of moisture; not dry; slightly wet; damp.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/mɔɪst/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. Characterized by the presence of moisture; not dry; slightly wet; damp.

  2. Of eyes: wet with tears; tearful; also (obsolete), watery due to some illness or to old age.

  3. Of a climate, the weather, etc.: damp, humid, rainy.

  4. Of the vagina: sexually lubricated due to sexual arousal; of a woman: sexually aroused, turned on.

    informal
  5. Characterized by the presence of some fluid such as mucus, pus, etc.

  6. Of sounds of internal organs (especially as heard through a stethoscope): characterized by the sound of air bubbling through a fluid.

  7. Pertaining to one of the four essential qualities formerly believed to be present in all things, characterized by wetness; also, having a significant amount of this quality.

    historical
  8. Fluid, liquid, watery.

    obsolete
  9. Bringing moisture or rain.

    also · obsolete · poetic
Where this word comes from

The adjective is derived from Middle English moist, moiste [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman moist, moiste, moste, Middle French moiste, and Old French moiste, muste (“damp, moist, wet”) (modern French moite); further etymology uncertain, perhaps a blend of a Late Latin variant of Latin mūcidus (“mouldy, musty”) + a Late Latin derivative of Latin mustum (“unfermented or partially fermented grape juice or wine, must”). The noun is derived from the adjective.

noun/mɔɪst/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. Moistness; also, moisture.

    regional · uncountable
Where this word comes from

The adjective is derived from Middle English moist, moiste [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman moist, moiste, moste, Middle French moiste, and Old French moiste, muste (“damp, moist, wet”) (modern French moite); further etymology uncertain, perhaps a blend of a Late Latin variant of Latin mūcidus (“mouldy, musty”) + a Late Latin derivative of Latin mustum (“unfermented or partially fermented grape juice or wine, must”). The noun is derived from the adjective.

verb/mɔɪst/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. To make (something) moist or wet; to moisten.

    US · regional · transitive
  2. To inspire, to refresh (someone); also, to soften (one's heart).

    figuratively · obsolete · transitive
  3. To rain lightly; to drizzle.

    US · intransitive
  4. To have an effect of moistening or wetting.

    intransitive · obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English moisten, moist, moiste (“to make moist or wet; to soak in liquid; to become moist or wet; to provide with moisture or water; to satisfy thirst with liquor or water, slake”) [and other forms], and then either: * from Anglo-Norman muster (“to make moist or wet”), Middle French moistir, and Old French moistir (“to make moist or wet; to become moist or wet”) (compare enmoistir; modern French moitir), from Old French moiste, muste (“damp, moist, wet”) (see etymology 1) + -ir (suffix forming infinitives of second conjugation verbs); or * from Middle English moist, moiste (adjective) (see etymology 1), though the adjective is first attested later.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.