ooze
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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(of moisture, liquid, etc.) to flow, percolate, or exude slowly, as through holes or small openings.
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to move or pass slowly or gradually, as if through a small opening or passage.
The crowd oozed toward the entrance.
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(of a substance) to exude moisture.
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(of something abstract, as information or courage) to appear or disappear slowly or imperceptibly (often followed by out oraway ).
His cockiness oozed away during my rebuttal speech.
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to display some characteristic or quality.
to ooze with piety.
verb (used with object)
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to make by oozing.
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to exude (moisture, air, etc.) slowly.
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to display or dispense freely and conspicuously.
He can ooze charm when it serves his interest.
noun
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Geology. a calcareous or siliceous mud composed chiefly of the shells of one-celled organisms, covering parts of the ocean bottom.
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soft mud, or slime.
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a marsh or bog.
verb
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(intr) to flow or leak out slowly, as through pores or very small holes
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to exude or emit (moisture, gas, etc)
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(tr) to overflow with
to ooze charm
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to disappear or escape gradually
noun
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a slow flowing or leaking
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an infusion of vegetable matter, such as sumach or oak bark, used in tanning
noun
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a soft thin mud found at the bottom of lakes and rivers
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a fine-grained calcareous or siliceous marine deposit consisting of the hard parts of planktonic organisms
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muddy ground, esp of bogs
Etymology
Origin of ooze1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun wose, woze, Old English wōs “juice, moisture”; verb derivative of the noun
Origin of ooze2
First recorded before 900; Middle English wose, woze, Old English wāse “mud, slime”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One close to the seafront, where the near-200-year-old golf club gives way to a spectacular view across the Firth of Forth to the Bass Rock, has its keypad caked in a sticky black ooze.
From BBC
He oozed confidence and warmth when he spoke about how healing from an accident a few years prior inspired him to become a physical therapist.
From Los Angeles Times
IN THE MORNING, Nim’s knee was hotter and fatter, with red lines streaking around the ooze.
From Literature
Emma truly does look sorry, and the sympathy oozing from her voice makes me want to cry even more.
From Literature
They fell in a heap on the oozing ground.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
