Standard Lemma guide

drool

noun · verb · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /dɹuːl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Northern-Ireland, Scotland: /dɹʉl/
  • rhymes with -uːl
  • CMU ARPABET: D R UW1 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Saliva trickling from the mouth.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Stupid talk.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: colloquial, uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To secrete saliva, especially in anticipation of food.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To secrete any substance in a similar way.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

Examples

  • The alien beast drooled slime.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To react to something with uncontrollable desire.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, informal, intransitive

Examples

  • That boy is so attractive I drool whenever I see him!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To talk nonsense; drivel.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

saliva spilling from the mouth

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dribble, drivel, slobber

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: saliva, spit, spittle

8

noun

Meaning 8

pretentious or silly talk or writing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: baloney, boloney, bilgewater, bosh, humbug, taradiddle, tarradiddle, tommyrot, tosh, twaddle

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: nonsense, bunk, nonsensicality, meaninglessness, hokum

9

verb

Meaning 9

let saliva drivel from the mouth

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The baby drooled

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: drivel, slabber, slaver, slobber, dribble

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: salivate

10

verb

Meaning 10

be envious, desirous, eager for, or extremely happy about something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • She was salivating over the raise she anticipated

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: salivate

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: covet

History

Etymology

From earlier drule, apparently a corruption of drivel (compare snool from snivel). Compare also Middle English drullen (“to stagger, drool”), Dutch druilen (“to be listless, snooze”).

Across languages

Translations

115 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: լորձունք (lorjunkʻ) — saliva
  • Armenian: շողիք (šoġikʻ) — saliva
  • Basque: lerde — saliva
  • Bulgarian: лиги (ligi) — saliva
  • Chinese Mandarin: 口水 (kǒushuǐ) — saliva
  • Danish: savl — saliva
  • Esperanto: bavo — saliva
  • Faroese: sleva — saliva
  • Faroese: slev — saliva
  • Finnish: kuola — saliva
  • French: bave — saliva
  • Galician: baba — saliva
  • Galician: baballa — saliva
  • German: Sabber — saliva
  • German: Geifer — saliva
  • German: Gesabbere — saliva
  • German: Spucke — saliva
  • German: Speichel — saliva
  • Ido: bavo — saliva
  • Italian: bava — saliva
  • Italian: sputo — saliva
  • Japanese: 涎 (yodare) — saliva
  • Japanese: 唾 (tsuba) — saliva
  • Portuguese: baba — saliva
  • Romanian: bale — saliva
  • Russian: слю́ни (sljúni) — saliva
  • Serbo-Croatian: слине — saliva
  • Serbo-Croatian: sline — saliva
  • Sikkimese: ཁ་མཆུ (kha mchu) — saliva
  • Spanish: baba — saliva
  • Swedish: dregel — saliva
  • Tauya: drool — saliva
  • Afrikaans: kwyl — to secrete saliva
  • Arabic: أَسَالَ لُعَابًا (ʔasāla luʕāban) — to secrete saliva
  • Bulgarian: лигавя се (ligavja se) — to secrete saliva
  • Bulgarian: текат ми лигите (tekat mi ligite) — to secrete saliva
  • Catalan: salivar — to secrete saliva
  • Chinese Cantonese: 流口水 (lau4 hau2 seoi2) — to secrete saliva
  • Hakka Chinese: 該跃跃 (kôi-yok-yok) — to secrete saliva
  • Chinese: 流瀾 /流澜 (zh-min-nan) — to secrete saliva
  • Chinese Mandarin: 流口水 (liú kǒushuǐ) — to secrete saliva
  • Czech: slintat — to secrete saliva
  • Danish: savle — to secrete saliva
  • Dutch: kwijlen — to secrete saliva
  • Esperanto: salivi — to secrete saliva
  • Faroese: sleva — to secrete saliva
  • Finnish: kuolata — to secrete saliva
  • French: saliver — to secrete saliva
  • French: baver — to secrete saliva
  • West-Frisian: flyberje — to secrete saliva
  • Galician: babexar — to secrete saliva
  • Galician: babar — to secrete saliva
  • German: sabbern — to secrete saliva
  • German: geifern — to secrete saliva
  • Greek: σαλιάζω (saliázo) — to secrete saliva
  • Hebrew: הזיל ריר (hizíl rir) — to secrete saliva
  • Hungarian: nyáladzik — to secrete saliva
  • Hungarian: csorog a nyála — to secrete saliva
  • Hungarian: csorgatja a nyálát — to secrete saliva
  • Icelandic: slefa — to secrete saliva
  • Indonesian: mengiler — to secrete saliva
  • Italian: sbavare — to secrete saliva
  • Italian: salivare — to secrete saliva
  • Italian: schiumare — to secrete saliva
  • Latvian: siekaļot — to secrete saliva
  • Latvian: siekaļoties — to secrete saliva
  • Macedonian: се лигави (se ligavi) — to secrete saliva
  • Māori: hāwareware — to secrete saliva
  • Norwegian: sikle — to secrete saliva
  • Polish: ślinić się — to secrete saliva
  • Portuguese: salivar — to secrete saliva
  • Portuguese: babar — to secrete saliva
  • Romanian: saliva — to secrete saliva
  • Russian: пуска́ть слюну́ (puskátʹ sljunú) — to secrete saliva
  • Russian: слюня́вить (sljunjávitʹ) — to secrete saliva
  • Russian: наслюня́вить (nasljunjávitʹ) — to secrete saliva
  • Russian: заслюня́вить (zasljunjávitʹ) — to secrete saliva
  • Serbo-Croatian: слинити — to secrete saliva
  • Serbo-Croatian: ба̏лавити — to secrete saliva
  • Serbo-Croatian: sliniti — to secrete saliva
  • Serbo-Croatian: bȁlaviti — to secrete saliva
  • Slovak: slintať — to secrete saliva
  • Spanish: babear — to secrete saliva
  • Spanish: salivar — to secrete saliva
  • Spanish: babosear — to secrete saliva
  • Spanish: ensalivar — to secrete saliva
  • Spanish: hacérsele la boca agua — to secrete saliva
  • Spanish: hacérsele la boca un agua — to secrete saliva
  • Spanish: hacérsele agua la boca — to secrete saliva
  • Swedish: dregla — to secrete saliva
  • Walloon: blefer — to secrete saliva
  • Walloon: gleter — to secrete saliva
  • Zazaki: gıleski (diq) — to secrete saliva
  • Spanish: babear — to react to something with uncontrollable desire
  • Spanish: caérsele la baba — to react to something with uncontrollable desire
  • Arabic: هَذَى (haḏā) — to talk nonsense
  • Bulgarian: говоря глупости (govorja gluposti) — to talk nonsense
  • Czech: žvanit — to talk nonsense
  • Finnish: höpistä — to talk nonsense
  • German: Quatsch reden — to talk nonsense
  • German: Scheiße reden — to talk nonsense
  • German: dumm schwätzen — to talk nonsense
  • Hungarian: zagyvál — to talk nonsense
  • Italian: sproloquiare — to talk nonsense
  • Italian: cianciare — to talk nonsense
  • Italian: blaterare — to talk nonsense
  • Italian: parlare a vanvera — to talk nonsense
  • Portuguese: falar merda — to talk nonsense
  • Russian: говори́ть глу́пости (govorítʹ glúposti) — to talk nonsense
  • Russian: поро́ть чушь (porótʹ čušʹ) — to talk nonsense
  • Serbo-Croatian: govoriti gluposti — to talk nonsense
  • Serbo-Croatian: lupetati — to talk nonsense
  • Serbo-Croatian: baljezgati — to talk nonsense
  • Spanish: hablar disparates — to talk nonsense
  • Spanish: hablar tonterías — to talk nonsense