Meaning & use
drooling
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“drooling” is a form of “drool”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Letting saliva flow out of your mouth without control.
Grammar: No object; it describes what the mouth does. You can say 'The baby is drooling.'
Patterns
- be drooling
- drool over something
The baby was drooling all over her bib.
He fell asleep on the train and woke up drooling.
The dog sat by the table, drooling at the smell of meat.
verbintransitiveinformalfigurative
Showing great and obvious desire for something, often in an undignified way.
Grammar: Often followed by 'over' or 'at': drool over a car, drool at the sight of food.
Patterns
- drool over something
- drool at something
Fans were drooling over the new sports car.
He drooled at the thought of a free holiday.
She was drooling over the chocolate cake in the window.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Describing someone who is letting saliva flow, or showing foolish desire.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a drooling baby, a drooling fan. It comes from the -ing form of the verb.
Patterns
- a drooling baby
- a drooling fan
The drooling baby needed a clean cloth.
A crowd of drooling fans waited for the singer.
He wiped the drooling dog's mouth.
Word forms
| base form | drool |
|---|---|
| third person singular | drools |
| past tense | drooled |
| past participle | drooled |
| -ing form | drooling |
Common combinations
- drool over
- They drooled over the expensive watches in the shop.
- start drooling
- The smell of fresh bread made him start drooling.
- wipe away drool
- She wiped away the drool from the baby's chin.
- leave someone drooling
- The dessert menu left us drooling.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slobbering
- Similar but usually means letting liquid run from the mouth in a messy, wet way, often used for animals.
- salivating
- More technical or formal; it means producing saliva, especially before eating.
Word family
- drool noun
- Saliva that flows from the mouth.
Commonly confused: drooling or drooling?
drooling vs drooling
Make sure you spell it with 'oo', not 'drooling' as 'drowling' or 'droling'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'drooling' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Drool' is intransitive, so it does not take a direct object like 'her toy'. 'On' shows where the saliva goes. 'Drooling for' can mean wanting something, but not in this literal baby context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “drooling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.