ooze

ooze — verb

1. to move out bit by bit from a crack, cut, or tiny gap, or to release a thick liq

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveC1
Definition

to move out bit by bit from a crack, cut, or tiny gap, or to release a thick liquid in this slow way

Example

Blood began to ooze through the bandage after the long walk home.

ooze through [material]

Warm honey oozed from the broken jar onto the picnic table.

ooze from [container]

Common collocations
  • ooze blood
  • ooze oil
  • ooze out
  • ooze through a bandage
  • ooze from a crack
Synonyms
  • seep

    often used for thinner liquid moving through a surface

  • leak

    a broader everyday word for liquid escaping by accident

  • exude

    slightly more formal and often used for moisture or smell

Antonyms
  • gush

    suggests fast, forceful flow

  • pour

    used when liquid comes out in a stronger stream

Grammar Patterns

ooze from [place]

ooze through [material]

ooze out of [container]

ooze [liquid]

Usage Note

Most often used for thick or unpleasant liquids such as blood, oil, pus, sap, or melted food. In this sense, from, out of, and through often show the source or path.

Common Mistakes

Water oozed from the broken fire pipe.
Water poured from the broken fire pipe.
ooze suggests very slow movement, often of a thicker liquid.

2. to make a feeling or quality very obvious without trying, or to be full of that

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveC2
Definition

to make a feeling or quality very obvious without trying, or to be full of that feeling or quality

Example

Even in old jeans, Rosa oozed confidence on the stage.

ooze [abstract quality]

The small cafe oozes charm with its blue walls and plants.

ooze with [quality]

Common collocations
  • ooze confidence
  • ooze charm
  • ooze menace
  • ooze calm
Synonyms
  • exude

    very close in meaning, but slightly more formal

  • radiate

    suggests the quality spreads outward clearly

  • project

    often used when someone gives a deliberate impression

Antonyms
  • hide

    to keep a feeling or quality from being seen

  • conceal

    more formal than hide

Grammar Patterns

ooze [quality]

ooze with [quality]

[quality] oozes from [person or thing]

Usage Note

Usually takes an abstract noun such as confidence, charm, or menace, not a physical object. It often sounds strong and can suggest that the quality is almost impossible to miss.

Common Mistakes

The room oozed water from the wall.
Water oozed from the wall.
this sense is for qualities like charm or confidence, not for liquid.

ooze — noun

Word family

  • oozy
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

For verb/1, ooze is used when something thick or sticky moves very slowly from a cut, crack, or container. Seep also suggests slow movement, but it is often used for thinner liquid going through a wall, cloth, or soil. Leak is broader and more neutral: a pipe can leak water quickly or slowly, and the focus is often on the problem rather than the texture. Exude is slightly more formal and is often used for sweat, smell, or moisture coming from a surface. Use ooze when the substance feels heavy or sticky. You can say Blood oozed through the bandage, but Water leaked from the pipe.

ooze ↗seepleak ↗exude

Common collocations

Phrases

  • ooze from
  • ooze with

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Ooze is an old English word linked with older words for wet mud and moisture. That history fits both the noun sense of soft muddy matter and the verb sense of thick liquid moving out slowly.