Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small amount or quantity; a modicum.
  • noun A small quantity scattered or sparsely distributed.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of one who sprinkles, in any sense of the word; aspersion.
  • noun A small quantity falling in distinct drops or parts, or coming moderately: as, a sprinkling of rain or snow.
  • noun A small amount scattered here and there, as if sprinkled.
  • noun In bookbinding, the operation of scattering a shower of fine drops of color on the trimmed edges of the leaves to produce a mottled effect.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of one who, or that which, sprinkles.
  • noun A small quantity falling in distinct drops or particles.
  • noun Hence, a moderate number or quantity distributed like separate drops, or as if scattered like drops.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of sprinkle.
  • noun The action of the verb to sprinkle.
  • noun A small amount of (some liquid, powder or other fine substance) that is sprinkled on to something.
  • noun A light shower of rain.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a light shower that falls in some locations and not others nearby
  • noun the act of sprinkling or splashing water
  • noun a small number (of something) dispersed haphazardly
  • noun the act of sprinkling water in baptism (rare)

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • "Your sprinkling is all wrong," he complained next.

    Chapter 34 2010

  • "Your sprinkling is all wrong," he complained next.

    Chapter 34 1908

  • This sprinkling is analogous to the sprinkled blood of the Passover.

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible 1871

  • Actually, Alex joined us in sprinkling fish sauce all over her meal tonight.

    Archive 2009-04-01 Laura 2009

  • Actually, Alex joined us in sprinkling fish sauce all over her meal tonight.

    Genius Vietnamese Fried Rice Laura 2009

  • He was very generous in sprinkling quotes from all of them.

    Matthew Yglesias » Endgame 2010

  • The newspaper said that an attempt had been made to rob the Newcomb place the night before, but that the thieves had apparently secured nothing but a package of oatmeal and a tin sprinkling-can, which they had abandoned on the lawn.

    Tish 1916

  • There was a tin sprinkling-can, quite new, in the tonneau, and we placed our wooden pails beside it and the oatmeal in it.

    Tish 1916

  • Sin mingles with our best and holiest performances, and the blood of sprinkling is necessary to procure acceptance to us and our services.

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible 1871

  • As the blood of sprinkling is represented as speaking to God for us, Heb 12: 24; so here God is represented as speaking to us (Heb 1: 1, 2).

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible 1871

Comments

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  • "4. In bookbinding, the operation of scattering a shower of fine drops of color on the trimmed edges of the leaves to produce a mottled effect. It is done by striking a brush charged with color against a rod held above the edges of the book to be sprinkled." --CD

    April 13, 2011