Meaning & use
mist
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A thin cloud of tiny water drops hanging in the air near the ground, making it slightly hard to see far.
Grammar: Can be used with a/an or as an uncountable mass: a mist came down; the valley was covered in mist.
Patterns
- a mist
- the mist
- mist over something
A cold mist covered the lake at dawn.
We drove slowly because mist was reducing visibility on the highway.
The mist lifted by mid-morning and the sun came out.
nouncountable or uncountable
A fine spray of liquid in the air, especially one made deliberately by a device or spray.
Grammar: Often used in compounds like 'water mist' or 'oil mist'; can be countable when referring to a specific cloud of spray.
Patterns
- a mist of something
- water mist
- oil mist
The cooling system releases a fine mist of water into the air.
A mist of perfume hung around her after she sprayed it.
Workers wore masks to avoid breathing in the oil mist.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To cover something with small drops of liquid, or to become covered with a thin film of moisture.
Grammar: Can take an object (mist the plants) or be used without one (her eyes misted). Often followed by 'over' or 'up'.
Patterns
- mist something
- mist over
- mist up
- eyes mist over
Mist the leaves lightly with water every morning.
The bathroom mirror misted up after his hot shower.
Her eyes misted over as she read the letter.
Word forms
| plural | mists |
|---|---|
| third person singular | mists |
| past tense | misted |
| past participle | misted |
| -ing form | misting |
Common combinations
- thick mist
- Thick mist made the mountain road dangerous.
- morning mist
- Morning mist rose from the fields.
- mist clears
- The mist cleared by noon.
- lost in the mist
- The hikers got lost in the mist.
- a mist of
- A mist of rain covered the windshield.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- misty adjective
- Full of or covered with mist; not clear.
- mistily adverb
- In a misty way; unclearly.
Commonly confused: mist or missed?
mist vs missed
Missed is the past tense of 'miss' (to fail to hit or catch); mist is the weather condition.
Practice
The valley was covered in ___ this morning, so we could barely see the other side.
Choose one answer.
'Mist' is the noun that fits after 'covered in'; 'misty' is an adjective and would need a noun after it, while 'mists' and 'misting' do not fit this singular, general context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.