Dew is the tiny water droplets that form on grass, leaves, spider webs, and other surfaces overnight, especially in spring and summer. If you've ever walked barefoot across a lawn early in the morning and felt your feet get wet, that moisture is dew.

Dew forms through a simple process: during the day, the sun warms the air, and this warm air holds invisible water vapor. At night, when temperatures drop, the air can't hold as much moisture anymore. The water vapor condenses into visible droplets on cool surfaces, the same way water beads up on the outside of a cold glass of lemonade on a hot day.

You'll notice the most dew on clear, calm nights when the ground cools down significantly. By mid-morning, as the sun warms everything up again, the dew evaporates back into the air, and surfaces dry off. This cycle can happen again and again in the right conditions.

The word dewy describes something covered with or resembling dew, like dewy grass or even dewy eyes that look moist and shiny.