sizzle
/ˈsɪz(ə)l
/verb [no object]
1(Of food) make a hissing sound when frying or cooking: the bacon began to sizzle in the pan...
- By the time my dad woke up and walked into the kitchen I had a frying pan with bacon and sausage sizzling on one ring of the range, and another with four eggs frying.
- We can smell bacon and beans sizzling on an open fire next to a chuck wagon.
- The grapes sizzled, sputtered, and melted into syrup, basting and braising the sausages in their bubbling juices.
Synonyms
crackle, frizzle, sputter, hiss, spit, fry
2 informal Be very hot: we sizzled in blazing sunshine this week...
- Yesterday's sizzling temperatures look set to continue for at least the next few days, with forecasters predicting highs of 90F in many Yorkshire cities today and tomorrow.
- Saturday's sizzling temperature - 43°C in Lismore - made conditions difficult.
- Dave Strachan is one of 22 forecasters at the Met Office in Stockport behind the predictions of blue skies and sizzling temperatures.
Synonyms
extremely hot, red-hot, unbearably hot, baking (hot), blazing, flaming, fiery, burning, scorching, blistering, searing, sweltering, torrid, tropical, like an oven, like a furnace, like a blowtorch;
parching, withering;
North American broiling
informal boiling (hot)
2.1Be very exciting or passionate: they simply sizzle as their affair develops...
- Now can I just say that if you are getting down with it on a regular basis and the passion is sizzling, then you can't really be having a problem in your marriage then can you?
Synonyms
passionate, torrid, amorous, ardent, sexy, lustful, erotic
informal steamy, hot, red-hot
noun
1 [in singular] A hissing sound, as of food frying or cooking: the sizzle of hot dogs...
- Two hours later I heard the sizzle of food being cooked.
- From over the noise of hammering and the sizzle of molten metal striking water, he heard a faint answering call.
- The noise in the kitchen was almost deafening, filled with the shouts of cooks, the clatter of pans, the hissing sizzle of some food deep-frying.
2 [mass noun] informal A state or quality of great excitement or passion: it would be a waste not to cast him in roles requiring some sexual sizzle...
- It's just amazing that a station wagon can pack so much sizzle and excitement in its look and stance.
- She is known for stories with strong visual narratives, interesting secondary characters, accurate historical detail and love scenes with lots of sizzle.
- They may not be glamorous or have a lot of sizzle, but they work.
Derivatives
sizzler
- Continental grills, which are served as sizzlers include ‘barbecued spring chicken’, made of tender chicken, grilled fish, grilled spare-ribs and ‘Green pepper steak’.
- We also travelled to Mumbai and Pune in search of the perfect sizzlers.
- For a province that features steak and eggs before 11 a.m. on more than a few menus, you'd expect to smell your fair share of sizzlers around the neighbourhood.
Origin
Early 17th century: imitative.