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Definition of distil verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

distil

verb
 
/dɪˈstɪl/
 
/dɪˈstɪl/
(North American English distill)
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they distil
 
/dɪˈstɪl/
 
/dɪˈstɪl/
(North American English also) present simple I / you / we / they distill
 
/dɪˈstɪl/
 
/dɪˈstɪl/
he / she / it distils
 
/dɪˈstɪlz/
 
/dɪˈstɪlz/
(North American English also) he / she / it distills
 
/dɪˈstɪlz/
 
/dɪˈstɪlz/
past simple distilled
 
/dɪˈstɪld/
 
/dɪˈstɪld/
past participle distilled
 
/dɪˈstɪld/
 
/dɪˈstɪld/
-ing form distilling
 
/dɪˈstɪlɪŋ/
 
/dɪˈstɪlɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. distil something (from something) to make a liquid pure by heating it until it becomes a gas, then cooling it and collecting the drops of liquid that form
    • to distil fresh water from seawater
    • distilled water
    Topics Physics and chemistryc2, Drinksc2
  2. distil something to make something such as a strong alcoholic drink in this way
    • The factory distils and bottles whisky.
  3. distil something (from/into something) (formal) to get the essential meaning or ideas from thoughts, information, experiences, etc.
    • The notes I made on my travels were distilled into a book.
  4. Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin distillare, variant of destillare, from de- ‘down, away’ + stillare (from stilla ‘a drop’).
See distil in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
previously
adverb
 
 
From the Word list
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