variants
or less commonly distil
distilled; distilling
1
: to let fall, exude, or precipitate (see precipitate entry 1 sense 3b) in drops or in a wet mist
some caves are dry, others distill water from invisible rifts—
Norman Douglas
Norman Douglas2
a
: to purify or transform (a liquid) by successive evaporation and condensation : to subject to or transform by distillation
distill molasses into rum
b
: to obtain by or as if by distillation
distill whiskey
able to distill humor from personal loss
c
: to extract the essence of : concentrate
distill the experience into a poem
1
a
: to fall or materialize in drops or in a fine moisture
b
: to appear slowly or in small quantities at a time
2
a
: to undergo distillation
b
: to perform distillation
Examples of distill in a Sentence
They distill the whiskey from malted barley.
He has perfectly distilled the meaning of the holiday into a poem.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Enduring Power of Simplicity Whether addressing a nation or leading a team, the ability to distill complex ideas into simple, impactful statements is an invaluable skill.
—Scott Hutcheson, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
The truth became impossible to distill: Musk's vaunted Community Notes system was like a Band-Aid on a bullet hole, as reports of water shortages — some real, some fake — exploded into partisan blame games.
—Axios, 10 Jan. 2025
But Iyer doesn’t distill the lessons of silence into a fashionable set of lifestyle tips.
—Danny Heitman, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Jan. 2025
To distill Sullivan: America must quickly perfect a technology that many believe will be smarter and more capable than humans.
—Axios, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for distill 
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Scott Hutcheson, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
The truth became impossible to distill: Musk's vaunted Community Notes system was like a Band-Aid on a bullet hole, as reports of water shortages — some real, some fake — exploded into partisan blame games.
—Axios, 10 Jan. 2025
But Iyer doesn’t distill the lessons of silence into a fashionable set of lifestyle tips.
—Danny Heitman, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Jan. 2025
To distill Sullivan: America must quickly perfect a technology that many believe will be smarter and more capable than humans.
—Axios, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for distill
Dictionary Entries Near distill
Cite this Entry
“Distill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distill. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
distill
verb
dis·till
variants
also distil
distilled; distilling
: to obtain or purify by distillation
Medical Definition
distill
verb
dis·till
variants
also distil
distilled; distilling
1
: to subject to or transform by distillation
2
: to obtain by or as if by distillation
3
: to obtain an extract from (as a plant) by infusion and distillation
making medicines by distilling herbs
1
: to undergo distillation
2
: to condense or drop from a still after distillation
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