English Reference
Noun

ooze

n. uncountable
C2 Proficiency US /ˈuz/ UK /ˈuːz/ ooze UK spelling oozed, oozes, oozing

n.a thick, sticky liquid that moves slowly. It is often used to describe something that is unpleasant or messy.

n.a thick, viscous, semi-fluid substance that flows slowly. Often carries a negative connotation of being slimy or unpleasant.


SIMPLE

The swamp was full of green ooze.

CONTEXTUAL

After the storm, a thick black ooze began to rise from the cracks in the old sewer pipes.

COMPLEX

The abandoned factory floor was coated in a sticky, tar-like ooze that had seeped through the corroded metal walls over decades of neglect.

The T-1000 is nowhere to be seen—until it slowly oozes up out of the checkerboard hospital floor tiles right behind the unsuspecting guard.

Ars Technica· 28 Aug 2026

Little Bird, a trained lawyer, is repeatedly told to calm down, act with decorum, while officials fob her off, oozing contempt.

The Guardian· 15 Aug 2026

Etymology 1

(Noun) Middle English wose (“sap”), from Old English wōs (“sap, froth”), from Proto-Germanic wōsą, from Proto-Indo-European *wóseh₂ (“sap”) (cf. Sanskrit वसा (vásā, “fat”)). Cognate to Middle Low German wose (“scum”), Old High German wasal (“rain”), Old Swedish os, oos, ooss, Swedish os. Compare Old Swedish os, oos, Swedish os, Danish os, Norwegian os (“fumes, vapors, reeking, fug”). * (Verb) Middle English wosen, from Old English wōsan; see above. Compare Swedish osa (“ooze”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English wose, from Old English wāse (“mud, mire”), from Proto-West Germanic waisā, from Proto-Germanic waisǭ (compare Dutch waas (“haze, mist; bloom”), (obsolete) German Wasen (“turf, sod”), Old Norse veisa (“slime, stagnant pool”)), from Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to flow”) (compare Sanskrit विष्यति (viṣyati, “flow, let loose”)). Compare also Saterland Frisian öäzje (“to smear”). More at virus.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Old English wōsan
Level C2 · Proficiency
Frequency Occasional
Updated