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mist

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

mist / mist/ • n. a cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface limiting visibility, but to a lesser extent than fog; strictly, with visibility remaining above 1.5 miles (1 km): the peaks were shrouded in mist | [in sing.] a mist rose out of the river. ∎  [in sing.] a condensed vapor settling in fine droplets on a surface: a breeze cooled the mist of perspiration that had dampened her temples. ∎  [in sing.] a haze or film over the eyes, esp. caused by tears, and resulting in blurred vision: Ruth saw most of the scene through a mist of tears. ∎  used in reference to something that blurs one's perceptions or memory: Sardinia's origins are lost in the mists of time. • v. cover or become covered with mist: [tr.] the windows were misted up with condensation | [intr.] the glass was beginning to mist up. ∎  [intr.] (of a person's eyes) become covered with a film of tears causing blurred vision: her eyes misted at this heroic image. ∎  [tr.] spray (something, esp. a plant) with a fine cloud of water droplets. ORIGIN: Old English, of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Greek omikhlē ‘mist, fog.’

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© The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2008, originally published by Oxford University Press 2008.