decant

Other forms: decanted; decanting; decants

The verb decant means "to pour." Kids moving water back and forth between two cups, your dad pouring a bucket of soapy water in the sink, or a wine expert emptying a bottle of wine into a fancy glass container — all of them are decanting liquids.

When you decant, pronounced "dee-CANT," something by slowly pouring it from one bottle to another, you may feel a little bit like a mad scientist or an alchemist. That image would be appropriate, since early on decant was used by alchemists to describe the process of separating a liquid from a sediment by careful pouring. Today, wine lovers do just that — decanting wine to avoid any solid bits — but pouring any liquid can be described as decanting.