English Reference

Word

sprinkle

Phoneticssprin·kle

US/ˈspɹɪŋkəɫ/

UK/spɹˈɪŋkəl/

Definitions

01to scatter small pieces

B1 · Cooking

v. to drop small amounts of a liquid or a dry substance over something.

v. to scatter small drops of liquid or fine particles of a solid substance over a surface.

“Sprinkle a little salt over the potatoes before you put them in the oven.”

“The chef instructed the trainees to sprinkle the finely chopped herbs evenly across the dish to ensure a balanced flavour profile.”

Usage

Often used with the preposition 'over' or 'on'.

Synonyms

Antonyms

pourdrench

02to rain lightly

B2

v. to rain very lightly, often for a short time.

v. to rain in very fine, light drops; typically used impersonally with 'it'.

“It started to sprinkle just as we arrived at the park for our picnic.”

“Although it began to sprinkle during the outdoor ceremony, the guests remained in their seats as the clouds showed no sign of a heavy downpour.”

Synonyms

Antonyms

pourteem

03cake decorations

B1 · Cooking

n. tiny, colourful pieces of sugar used to decorate cakes and cookies.

n. small, often multi-coloured pieces of confectionery used as a decorative topping for desserts.

“The children wanted extra chocolate sprinkles on their ice cream cones.”

“The bakery specialises in custom cupcakes topped with gold-leaf sprinkles and hand-piped buttercream frosting.”

Usage

Usually used in the plural form.

Synonyms

hundreds and thousandsjimmies

04a light rain

B2

n. a very light and brief period of rain.

n. a brief and light fall of rain, less intense than a shower.

“We didn't need umbrellas because it was just a light sprinkle.”

“A sudden sprinkle dampened the pavement, but the heat of the afternoon sun dried it within minutes.”

Synonyms

Antonyms

Etymology

From Middle English sprenkelen, sprynklen, from Middle Dutch sprenkelen, equivalent to sprink + -le (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Dutch sprenkelen (“to sprinkle”), German Low German sprenkeln (“to sprinkle; dapple”), German sprenkeln (“to sprinkle”).

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

Word family

sprinkleVerbsprinklerNoun

This entry

Level
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

English Reference