I. ˈüz noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English wose, from Old English wāse mud, mire; akin to Old Norse veisa slime, stagnant water, Latin virus slimy liquid, poison — more at virus
1. : a soft deposit on the bottom of a body of water
to tread the ooze of the salt deep — Shakespeare
as
a. : soft mud or slime typically in the bed of a river or estuary : earth so wet as to flow gently or easily yield to pressure
b. : a soft deposit that resembles mud, covers large areas of the ocean bottom, and is composed largely or mainly of the shells or other hard parts of minute organisms (as foraminiferans, radiolarians, and diatoms)
2. : a stretch or piece of muddy ground : a marsh or bog that results from the flow of a spring, stream, or brooklet
3. archaic : seaweed
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English wose, from Old English wōs
1. : juice , sap
dyed … threads in the ooze she wrung from herbs — George McMillan
2.
a. : a decoction of vegetable material used for tanning leather : tanning liquor
b. : ooze leather
3. : the action of oozing : gentle flow
bleeding in the form of a profuse ooze from surgical wounds — Anesthesia Digest
4. : something that oozes : a slow stream
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English wosen, from wose ooze (juice)
intransitive verb
1. : to pass slowly or in small amounts through the pores or small openings of a body : flow slowly through interstices
blood appears to have oozed from a varicose vein — Morris Fishbein
water oozed from the ground — Harry Gilroy
sweet potatoes baked in the peeling until the juice oozes out — American Guide Series: North Carolina
a weak tear oozed from each eye — Agnes S. Turnbull
2.
a. : to pass through or as if through small openings or crevices
we could hear the wind … ooze through the briar thickets — J.H.Stuart
a voice oozes from a slit of a door — Francis Aldor
the clatter of typewriters oozed from every transom — Herbert Hoover
b. : to move slowly or imperceptibly
what they skim off oozes across the floor — R.A.W.Hughes
the crowd began to ooze forward — Bruce Marshall
3.
a. : to exude moisture ; specifically : to exude blood
b. : to exude something in a way suggestive of the emitting of moisture — usually used with with
a writing that oozes with hostility
a person oozing with good cheer
4. : to escape slowly and quietly — often used with out or away
courage oozing out at his finger tips — A.T.Weaver
satisfaction would ooze away — Times Literary Supplement
failure oozed out of the very pores of his skin — Ellen Glasgow
transitive verb
1. : to emit or give out slowly (as air or liquid)
thick steaks oozing blood — Marcia Davenport
2. : to exude or give off in a way suggestive or the emitting of moisture
popular songs which ooze optimism — J.T.Farrell
his voice oozing sarcasm — Walter Goodman
oozing charm for every pore — Irish Digest
Synonyms: see emit