English · Word Candidate

dew

/d͡ʒuː/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: dews · dewing · dewed

Sense 1

Meaning · English

Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces.

Noun

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

Moisture in the air that settles on plants, etc in the morning or evening, resulting in drops.

Noun

Examples

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

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Meaning · English

To wet with, or as if with, dew; to moisten.

Verb

Examples

The grasses grew / A little ranker since they dewed them so.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 4

Meaning · English

To deposit dew.

Verb

Examples

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 dispo

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “dew” mean?

Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces.

Is “dew” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.