verb
sprinkle
SPRIHNG-kuhl
verb
1
To scatter small drops or particles of something over a surface.
"She sprinkled sugar over the fresh strawberries."
"He sprinkled a little salt on his fries."
noun
1
A light shower of rain.
"Just a light sprinkle fell before the sun came back out."
2
Tiny bits of colored candy or sugar used to decorate cakes and desserts.
"The cupcakes were topped with rainbow sprinkles."
How to Use Sprinkle
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo scatter something lightly over a surface, or the light rain/tiny decorations that result from this kind of scattering.
Common pairings
sprinkle of rain
sprinkle sugar
chocolate sprinkles
Word Forms
sprinkled past tense, sprinkles plural, Sprinkles plural, sprinkles singular
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She _____ sugar over the fresh strawberries.
Etymology
From Middle English sprenkelen, borrowed from Middle Dutch sprenkelen, built on sprink plus a frequentative suffix.