sprinkle
v.v. to drop small pieces or drops of something over a surface. You usually do this with your fingers or a small tool to cover an area lightly.
v. to scatter small drops or particles of a substance over an object or surface. Transitive when used with a direct object representing the substance or the surface being covered.
Sprinkle some salt over the potatoes before serving.
The baker likes to sprinkle powdered sugar over the warm cookies to give them a professional finish.
The gardener used a small can to sprinkle water over the delicate seedlings, ensuring the soil remained moist without washing the tiny plants away.
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”).
The verb is transitive; it can take the substance as the object ('sprinkle salt') or the surface as the object ('sprinkle the cake with salt').
sprinkle to the cakesprinkle on the cakeWhen describing the surface being covered, use 'on', 'over', or 'onto' rather than 'to'.