dry

[ drahy ]

/ draɪ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR dry ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, dri·er, dri·est.

free from moisture or excess moisture; not moist; not wet: a dry towel; dry air.

having or characterized by little or no rain: a dry climate; the dry season.

characterized by absence, deficiency, or failure of natural or ordinary moisture.

not under, in, or on water: It was good to be on dry land.

not now containing or yielding water or other liquid; depleted or empty of liquid: The well is dry.

not yielding milk: a dry cow.

free from tears: dry eyes.

drained or evaporated away: a dry river.

desiring drink; thirsty: He was so dry he could hardly speak.

causing thirst: dry work.

served or eaten without butter, jam, etc.: dry toast.

(of cooked food) lacking enough moisture or juice to be satisfying or succulent.

(of bread and bakery products) stale.

of or relating to nonliquid substances or commodities: dry measure; dry provisions.

(of wines) not sweet.

(of a cocktail)

made with dry vermouth: a dry Manhattan.
made with relatively little dry vermouth: a dry martini.

characterized by or favoring prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors for use in beverages: a dry state.

(of British biscuits) not sweet.

plain; bald; unadorned: dry facts.

dull; uninteresting: a dry subject.

expressed in a straight-faced, matter-of-fact way: dry humor.

indifferent; cold; unemotional: a dry answer.

unproductive: The greatest of artists have dry years.

(of lumber) fully seasoned.

Building Trades.

(of masonry construction) built without fresh mortar or cement.
(of a wall, ceiling, etc., in an interior) finished without the use of fresh plaster.

Ceramics.

unglazed.
insufficiently glazed.

Art. hard and formal in outline, or lacking mellowness and warmth in color.

verb (used with object), dried, dry·ing.

to make dry; free from moisture: to dry the dishes.

verb (used without object), dried, dry·ing.

to become dry; lose moisture.

noun, plural drys, dries.

a prohibitionist.

a dry place, area, or region.

Verb Phrases

dry out,

to make or become completely dry.
to undergo or cause to undergo detoxification from consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol.

dry up,

to make or become completely dry.
to cease to exist; evaporate.
Informal. to stop talking.
(in acting) to forget one's lines or part.

Idioms for dry

not dry behind the ears, immature; unsophisticated: Adult responsibilities were forced on him, although he was still not dry behind the ears.

Origin of dry

before 900; Middle English drie, Old English drȳge; akin to Dutch droog, German trocken; see drought

SYNONYMS FOR dry

20 tedious, barren, boring, tiresome, jejune.

29 dehydrate.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR dry ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR dry

1 wet.

20 interesting.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR dry ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for dry

1. Dry, arid both mean without moisture. Dry is the general word indicating absence of water or freedom from moisture: a dry well; dry clothes. Arid suggests great or intense dryness in a region or climate, especially such as results in bareness or in barrenness: arid tracts of desert. 28. See evaporate.

OTHER WORDS FROM dry

dry·a·ble, adjective dry·ly, adverb dry·ness, noun o·ver·dry, adjective

o·ver·dry·ly, adverb o·ver·dry·ness, noun pre·dry, verb (used with object), pre·dried, pre·dry·ing. re·dry, verb, re·dried, re·dry·ing. ul·tra·dry, adjective un·der·dry, verb (used with object), un·der·dried, un·der·dry·ing. un·dry, adjective un·dry·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby dry

druse, drusilla, drusus, druthers, druze, dry, dry abscess, dry adiabatic lapse rate, dry as dust, dry battery, dry beer

British Dictionary definitions for dry up (1 of 2)

dry up

verb (adverb)

(intr) to become barren or unproductive; fail in middle age his inspiration dried up

to dry (dishes, cutlery, etc) with a tea towel after they have been washed

(intr) informal to stop talking or speaking when I got on the stage I just dried up; dry up!

British Dictionary definitions for dry up (2 of 2)

dry

/ (draɪ) /

adjective drier, driest, dryer or dryest

lacking moisture; not damp or wet

having little or no rainfall

not in or under water dry land

having the water drained away or evaporated a dry river

not providing milk a dry cow

(of the eyes) free from tears

informal in need of a drink; thirsty
causing thirstdry work

eaten without butter, jam, etc dry toast

(of a wine, cider, etc) not sweet

pathol not accompanied by or producing a mucous or watery discharge a dry cough

consisting of solid as opposed to liquid substances or commodities

without adornment; plain dry facts

lacking interest or stimulation a dry book

lacking warmth or emotion; cold a dry greeting

(of wit or humour) shrewd and keen in an impersonal, sarcastic, or laconic way

opposed to or prohibiting the sale of alcoholic liquor for human consumption a dry area

NZ (of a ewe) without a lamb after the mating season

electronics (of a soldered electrical joint) imperfect because the solder has not adhered to the metal, thus reducing conductance

verb dries, drying or dried

(when intr, often foll by off) to make or become dry or free from moisture

(tr) to preserve (meat, vegetables, fruit, etc) by removing the moisture

noun plural drys or dries

British informal a Conservative politician who is considered to be a hard-liner Compare wet (def. 10)

the dry Australian informal the dry season

US and Canadian an informal word for prohibitionist

Derived forms of dry

dryable, adjective dryness, noun

Word Origin for dry

Old English drӯge; related to Old High German truckan, Old Norse draugr dry wood

Idioms and Phrases with dry up (1 of 2)

dry up

Gradually become unproductive, as in After two collections of short stories, his ability to write fiction dried up. Also see well's run dry.

Stop talking; also, cause to stop talking. For example, Dry up! You've said enough. [Slang; mid-1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with dry up (2 of 2)

dry

In addition to the idioms beginning with dry

dry as dust
dry behind the ears
dry out
dry run
dry up

also see:

cut and dried
hang out to dry
high and dry
keep one's powder dry
well's run dry

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

dry

adjective, dri·er, dri·est.

verb (used with object), dried, dry·ing.

verb (used without object), dried, dry·ing.

noun, plural drys, dries.

Verb Phrases

Idioms for dry

Origin of dry

SYNONYMS FOR dry

ANTONYMS FOR dry

synonym study for dry

OTHER WORDS FROM dry

Words nearby dry

British Dictionary definitions for dry up (1 of 2)

verb (adverb)

British Dictionary definitions for dry up (2 of 2)

adjective drier, driest, dryer or dryest

verb dries, drying or dried

noun plural drys or dries

Derived forms of dry

Word Origin for dry

Idioms and Phrases with dry up (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with dry up (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

dry

adjective, dri·er, dri·est.

verb (used with object), dried, dry·ing.

verb (used without object), dried, dry·ing.

noun, plural drys, dries.

Verb Phrases

Idioms for dry

Origin of dry

SYNONYMS FOR dry

ANTONYMS FOR dry

synonym study for dry

OTHER WORDS FROM dry

Words nearby dry

Words related to dry up

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for dry up (1 of 2)

verb (adverb)

British Dictionary definitions for dry up (2 of 2)

adjective drier, driest, dryer or dryest

verb dries, drying or dried

noun plural drys or dries

Derived forms of dry

Word Origin for dry

Idioms and Phrases with dry up (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with dry up (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for dry up (1 of 2)