mist

[ mist ]

/ mɪst /

noun

a cloudlike aggregation of minute globules of water suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface, reducing visibility to a lesser degree than fog.

a cloud of particles resembling this: She sprayed a mist of perfume onto her handkerchief.

something that dims, obscures, or blurs: the mist of ignorance.

a haze before the eyes that dims the vision: a mist of tears.

a suspension of a liquid in a gas.

a drink of liquor served over cracked ice.

a fine spray produced by a vaporizer to add moisture to the air for breathing.

verb (used without object)

to become misty.

to rain in very fine drops; drizzle (usually used impersonally with it as subject): It was misting when they went out for lunch.

verb (used with object)

to make misty.

to spray (plants) with a finely diffused jet of water, as a means of replacing lost moisture.

Origin of mist

before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch, Low German, Swedish mist; akin to Greek omíchlē fog, Russian mgla mist, Sanskrit megha cloud; (v.) Middle English misten, Old English mistian, derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS FOR mist

3, 4 See cloud.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR mist ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM mist

mist·less, adjective de·mist, verb (used with object) un·der·mist, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mist

midst missed mist

Words nearby mist

misstate, misstep, misstrike, missus, missy, mist, mist., mistakable, mistake, mistake for, mistaken

Definition for mist (2 of 2)

mist.

(in prescriptions) a mixture.

Origin of mist.

From the Latin word mistūra

ABOUT THIS WORD

What else does mist mean?

Content warning: this article references illicit drugs.

A mist is, literally speaking, a cloud of fine liquid droplets, but in slang it can variously refer to drugs and the experience of being on them. Mist can also be an alternative spelling or misspelling of missed.

Where does mist come from?

Recorded in Old English, a mist is a kind of vapor (i.e., small particles of liquid, typically water, suspended in the air or atmosphere). It also commonly refers to weather conditions, like a light fog, or to mist created by such things as spray bottles and haze machines.

Often, though, we talk and write about mist figuratively. Dating all the way back to Old English, mist could describe cloudy eyes … and cloudy minds. If you’re all misty, as another example, your eyes might have a far-away look or be wet with tears.

Mist is also found in alcohol slang, likely due to the misty (or hazy) feelings produced by those substances. In the 1970s, mist was a slang term for the drug phencyclidine, or PCP.

In the 1990s, the smoke from a crack-cocaine pipe was also referred to as mist. By 1995, a strain of marijuana was developed called Kali Mist, known for its uplifting, slightly hallucinogenic properties.

In the 1980s in the UK, the expression Scotch mist was used to refer to someone who was drunk: it rhymes with pissed, a British expression for drunk. It’s also possibly a reference to the real weather condition of Scotch mist, the fog that rolls out across the countryside there.

In the 1990s, Scotch mist was also used in UK slang to refer to someone vanishing. Speaking of Scottish English, mist was once used as a (rare) alternative spelling of the verb missed.

How is mist used in real life?

Mist has largely fallen away as a slang term for PCP or crack smoke. However, Kali Mist remains a strain of marijuana cultivated by growers.

These days, a Scotch mist most often refers to the literal weather phenomenon.

Proper Scotch mist out there. Waiting for a giant hound to bound across the moor *cough* road. pic.twitter.com/gPkISg1l6k

— Scotch Mist (@ScotchMist31) December 24, 2018

But occasionally, getting misted is used as an expression to refer to getting drunk, perhaps as from Canadian Mist whiskey. In UK slang, mist sometimes refers to someone who is really wound-up and energetic.

"If we're gonna get misted, we're gonna get misted" @austinB26 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/BIOz4ZkLCU

— jennyMUA (@gingarosewood) August 6, 2016

Some folks continue to use, deliberately or by mistake, the homophone mist for missed.

Did you mist me? hehehehe pic.twitter.com/YuxycwFG7T

— Austin Palado (@austinpalladium) November 7, 2017

More examples of mist:

“Kali Mist, a mild, earthy strain famous for its glorious trichomes, is an everyday strain meant to inspire motivation and mental clarity.”
—The Witches of Weedswick, Leafly, August 2018

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.

Example sentences from the Web for mist

In this valley so far away from Syria, questions loom like mist drifting off the Caucasus.

The Secret Life of an ISIS Warlord |Will Cathcart, Vazha Tavberidze, Nino Burchuladze |October 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Until 20 minutes before, the mist had completely obscured whatever stood across the plaza at the 9/11 Memorial.

A Final Burial at Ground Zero |Michael Daly |May 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The blankness had invited the mind to think back to mornings before September 11, when the mist had concealed the twin towers.

A Final Burial at Ground Zero |Michael Daly |May 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The great emancipator is featured sparingly, emerging dramatically through the mist at the top of the ad.

Abe Lincoln Burnishes His Brand Through Comedy Routines and Ads (Video) |The Daily Beast Video |February 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Clearing away some of the mist starts with straightening the record.

Secret History of the First Dunk |Evin Demirel |February 15, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
As they neared the shore, a landing-stage, or low jetty, of sunk piles disengaged itself from the mist.

The Blue Pavilions |Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
A mist rose before her eyes, and though they thought she listened she understood nothing of what was passing.

Count Hannibal |Stanley J. Weyman
Suddenly a mist gathered before his eyes, and he felt himself being carried up into the air also.

The Fairy Ring |Various
Had some keen eye seen those shadowy forms dropping through the mist?

The Courage of Captain Plum |James Oliver Curwood
The mist bank and the heavy fall of dew had so moistened things that the fire crept but slowly.

The Young Wireless Operator--As a Fire Patrol |Lewis E. Theiss

British Dictionary definitions for mist

mist

/ (mɪst) /

noun

a thin fog resulting from condensation in the air near the earth's surface

meteorol such an atmospheric condition with a horizontal visibility of 1–2 kilometres

a fine spray of any liquid, such as that produced by an aerosol container

chem a colloidal suspension of a liquid in a gas

condensed water vapour on a surface that blurs the surface

something that causes haziness or lack of clarity, such as a film of tears

verb

to cover or be covered with or as if with mist

Word Origin for mist

Old English; related to Middle Dutch, Swedish mist, Greek omikhlē fog

Scientific definitions for mist

mist

[ mĭst ]

A mass of fine droplets of water in the atmosphere near or in contact with the Earth. Mist reduces visibility to not less than 1 km (0.62 mi). Compare fog.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

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