dowse

Verb (1)

douse (third-person singular simple present douses, present participle dousing, simple past and past participle doused)

1. (ambitransitive) To plunge suddenly into water; to duck; to immerse.
   • Set fire to your matches! / Douse them in gasoline!2018, Jhariah Clare, “City of Ashes”, in The Great Tale of How I Ruined it All
2. (intransitive) To fall suddenly into water.
   • swing i' th'air, or douse in water1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished...
3. (transitive) To put out; to extinguish.
   • The man who doused the fire was told to put the remainder of the coal into the bucket and then give the bucket to the soldier.1999, Arthur D. Jacobs, The Prison Called Hohenasperg

Verb (2)

douse (third-person singular simple present douses, present participle dousing, simple past and past participle doused)

1. (transitive) To strike, beat, or thrash.
2. (transitive) To strike or lower in haste; to slacken suddenly
   • Douse the topsail!

See all 8 meanings of douse