overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

ooze.

Tanning liquor, an aqueous extract of vegetable matter (tanbark, sumac, etc.) in a tanning vat used to tan leather.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/uːz//ʉːz/Northern-Ireland, Scotland

  1. Tanning liquor, an aqueous extract of vegetable matter (tanbark, sumac, etc.) in a tanning vat used to tan leather.

    countable · uncountable

  2. An oozing, gentle flowing, or seepage, as of water through sand or earth.

    countable · uncountable

  3. Secretion, humour.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable

  4. Juice, sap.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

* (Noun) Middle English wose (“sap”), from Old English wōs (“sap, froth”), from Proto-Germanic *wōsą, from Proto-Indo-European *wóseh₂ (“sap”) (cf. Sanskrit वसा (vásā, “fat”)). Cognate to Middle Low German wose (“scum”), Old High German wasal (“rain”), Old Swedish os, oos, ooss, Swedish os. Compare Old Swedish os, oos, Swedish os, Danish os, Norwegian os (“fumes, vapors, reeking, fug”). * (Verb) Middle English wosen, from Old English wōsan; see above. Compare Swedish osa (“ooze”).

verb/uːz//ʉːz/Northern-Ireland, Scotland

  1. To be secreted or slowly leak.

    figuratively · intransitive · sometimes

  2. To give off a strong sense of (something); to exude.

    figuratively · transitive
Where this word comes from

* (Noun) Middle English wose (“sap”), from Old English wōs (“sap, froth”), from Proto-Germanic *wōsą, from Proto-Indo-European *wóseh₂ (“sap”) (cf. Sanskrit वसा (vásā, “fat”)). Cognate to Middle Low German wose (“scum”), Old High German wasal (“rain”), Old Swedish os, oos, ooss, Swedish os. Compare Old Swedish os, oos, Swedish os, Danish os, Norwegian os (“fumes, vapors, reeking, fug”). * (Verb) Middle English wosen, from Old English wōsan; see above. Compare Swedish osa (“ooze”).

noun/uːz//ʉːz/Northern-Ireland, Scotland

  1. Soft mud, slime, or shells especially in the bed of a river or estuary.

    countable · uncountable

  2. A pelagic marine sediment containing a significant amount of the microscopic remains of either calcareous or siliceous planktonic debris organisms.

    countable · uncountable

  3. A piece of soft, wet, pliable ground.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English wose, from Old English wāse (“mud, mire”), from Proto-West Germanic *waisā, from Proto-Germanic *waisǭ (compare Dutch waas (“haze, mist; bloom”), (obsolete) German Wasen (“turf, sod”), Old Norse veisa (“slime, stagnant pool”)), from Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to flow”) (compare Sanskrit विष्यति (viṣyati, “flow, let loose”)). Compare also Saterland Frisian öäzje (“to smear”). More at virus.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

ooze has 4 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

ooze studioooze workshello, ooze

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

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.