I. mist 1 /mɪst/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] a light cloud low over the ground that makes it difficult for you to see very far ⇨ fog :
We could just see the outline of the house through the mist.
He vanished into the mist.
The hills were shrouded in mist (=covered in mist, so that you could not see them) .
The mist came down off the mountains.
The mists rolled in off the sea (=came on to the land the sea)
2 . lost in the mists of time if something such as a fact or secret is lost in the mists of time, no one remembers it because it happened so long ago:
The real reasons for the war are now lost in the mists of time.
3 . see something through a mist of tears literary to see something while you are crying
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ be covered in mist ( also be shrouded in mist literary )
The tops of the mountains were shrouded in mist.
▪ a mist comes down/in (=comes to a place)
The mist came down like a curtain.
▪ a mist rolls in (=moves along to a place)
A mist began to roll in off the sea.
▪ the mist clears/lifts (=goes away)
The mountains suddenly appeared as the mist lifted.
▪ mist swirls (=moves in circles)
The boat disappeared into the swirling mist.
▪ a mist hangs/lies somewhere (=stays in a place)
A thick mist lay on the hills.
▪ a mist drifts (=moves slightly)
A mist drifted over the marsh.
▪ a mist rises (=comes up from something such as water)
I could see the mist rising from the river.
▪ a mist obscures/hides something (=covers something so that you cannot see it)
Mist obscured the ships in the harbor.
▪ disappear/vanish into the mist (=stop being seen because of the mist)
He passed me on the trail and disappeared into the mist.
▪ appear out of the mist ( also emerge from the mist )
Suddenly my commanding officer appeared out of the mist.
▪ loom out of the mist (=start being seen in a way that is not clear, because the mist still covers it slightly)
Here and there trees loomed out of the mist.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + mist
▪ a fine/light mist
A fine mist began to settle on the water.
▪ a thick/heavy mist
Outside, a heavy mist obscured everything.
▪ the morning/evening mist
The sun broke through the morning mist.
▪ autumn mist(s)
The field looked magical in the autumn mist.
▪ a sea mist
Alice sailed into a small patch of sea mist.
■ phrases
▪ a veil/curtain of mist (=an amount of mist that prevents you seeing something clearly)
We looked up, through the veil of mist, at the waterfall.
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THESAURUS
▪ cloud noun [uncountable and countable] a white or grey mass in the sky that forms from very small drops of water:
The storm was still a way off but black clouds were gathering.
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Thick cloud obscured the top of the hill.
▪ fog noun [uncountable and countable] very thick cloud near the ground which is difficult to see through:
The cars crashed into each other in thick fog.
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The fog had lifted (=disappeared) slightly.
▪ mist noun [uncountable and countable] light cloud near the ground that makes it difficult for you to see very far. Mist is usually not as thick as fog . You often get mist near areas of water or mountains:
The morning mist was lifting and the sun was coming up.
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A grey mist hung over the water.
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The hills were shrouded in mist (=surrounded by mist) .
▪ haze noun [singular, uncountable] smoke, dust, or mist in the air which is difficult to see through:
He saw the horses coming towards him through a haze of dust.
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The road shimmered in the heat haze.
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A pale blue haze hung over the far-off mountains.
▪ smog noun [uncountable and countable] dirty air that looks like a mixture of smoke and fog, caused by smoke from cars and factories in cities:
The city is covered in smog for much of the year.
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A smog warning was issued for parts of Southern Oregon.
▪ thundercloud noun [countable] a large dark cloud that you see before or during a storm:
He watched the thunderclouds roll across the valley.
▪ vapour trail British English , vapor trail American English noun [countable] the white line that is left in the sky by a plane:
High overhead, a jet left its vapour trail across the blue sky.
II. mist 2 BrE AmE verb
[transitive] to cover something with very small drops of liquid in order to keep it wet:
The plant has to be misted every day.
mist over phrasal verb
1 . if someone’s eyes mist over, they become filled with tears:
His eyes misted over at the memory of his wife.
2 . to mist up
mist up phrasal verb
if a piece of glass mists up, or if something mists it up, it becomes covered with very small drops of water so that you cannot see through it
mist something ↔ up
I can’t see where I’m going, with the windows all misted up like this.