drool

1 of 2

verb

ˈdrül 

drooled; drooling; drools

intransitive verb

1

a

: to secrete saliva in anticipation of food

The dog hears the bell and begins to drool.

b

: to let saliva dribble from the mouth : drivel sense 2

a drooling baby

2

: to make an effusive show of pleasure or often envious or covetous appreciation

drooling over their new car

3

: to talk nonsense

transitive verb

: to express sentimentally or effusively

drool

2 of 2

noun

1

: saliva trickling from the mouth

wipe the drool from his chin

2

: nonsense

Synonyms

Verb

• dribble
• drivel
• salivate
• slaver
• slobber

Noun

• applesauce [slang]
• balderdash
• baloney
• boloney
• beans
• bilge
• blah
• blah-blah
• blarney
• blather
• blatherskite
• blither
• bosh
• bull [slang]
• bunk
• bunkum
• buncombe
• claptrap
• codswallop [British]
• crapola [slang]
• crock
• drivel
• fiddle
• fiddle-faddle
• fiddlesticks
• flannel [British]
• flapdoodle
• folderol
• falderal
• folly
• foolishness
• fudge
• garbage
• guff
• hogwash
• hokeypokey
• hokum
• hoodoo
• hooey
• horsefeathers [slang]
• humbug
• humbuggery
• jazz
• malarkey
• malarky
• moonshine
• muck
• nerts [slang]
• nonsense
• nuts
• piffle
• poppycock
• punk
• rot
• rubbish
• senselessness
• silliness
• slush
• stupidity
• taradiddle
• tarradiddle
• tommyrot
• tosh
• trash
• trumpery
• twaddle

Examples of drool in a Sentence

Verb

the dog drooled when we put the steak down on the floor

middle-aged men drooling over a starlet half their age

Noun

He wiped the drool from the baby's face.

the only thing more pathetic than the pop psychologist who gushed such drool was the public that lapped it up

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

There’s a reason scouts once drooled over Williams’ potential. —C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 8 Mar. 2025

Symptoms from scorpion stings — such as burning at the sting site, drooling. —Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 3 Mar. 2025

Noun

Sam apologized awkwardly, trying covertly to swipe beneath her chin, checking for drool and feeling like the world’s schlubiest schlub for struggling to tear her eyes from this stranger when the love of her life had dumped her an hour earlier. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025

Over time, drool evolved in the 19th century as a more specific term for saliva spilling or dripping from the mouth. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

perhaps alteration of drivel

First Known Use

Verb

1802, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

1869, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for drool

• boule
• brule
• buhl
• cool
• fool
• ghoul
• mule
• pool
• poul
• rule
• school
• spool

Kids Definition

drool

verb

ˈdrül

1

: to water at the mouth

2

: to let saliva or some other substance flow from the mouth : drivel

Medical Definition

drool

intransitive verb

ˈdrül 

1

: to secrete saliva in anticipation of food

2

: to let saliva or some other substance flow from the mouth

side effects included drowsiness and drooling

drool noun