blow-dry
Americanverb (used with object)
-
blow-dries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blow-dried,
past participle, past
-
blow-drying
present participle
noun
-
blow-drys,
plural
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blow-dries
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
blow-drysimple
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blow-driessimple
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have blow-driedperfect
-
has blow-driedperfect
-
am blow-dryingprogressive
-
are blow-dryingprogressive
-
is blow-dryingprogressive
-
have been blow-dryingperfect progressive
-
has been blow-dryingperfect progressive
Past
-
blow-driedsimple
-
had blow-driedperfect
-
was blow-dryingprogressive
-
were blow-dryingprogressive
-
had been blow-dryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blow-dry
First recorded in 1965–70; back formation from blow-dryer
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Social media has spurred an increase in retailers dedicated to making Americans look good in photos, from blow-dry hair salons to waxing chains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
The service ends in the salon, with an “anti-hair loss” treatment and blow-dry as you sip tea and eat sweets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2024
On her return to the daytime TV show, Garraway joked that she was "looking forward to a blow-dry".
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2024
There’s a spa with a fitness center, blow-dry bar, nail salon and tennis facility.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2022
You rub it in with your fingers, then blow-dry my hair.
From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin
She said that she blow-dries her hair on medium heat using a Dyson Airwrap attachment, flat irons it and uses “an old-school pressing comb” to straighten her curly hair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
That’s a lot of what hairstylist Kayla Gowell hears as she snips, sprays, primps and blow-dries.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
When I was 8, my mom would get her hair bleached and tell the hairdresser, “Don’t worry, my son gets out of school at 2. He blow-dries my hair perfectly.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2023
People who live in hotels have time on their hands for daily blow-dries.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2019
Under these exhortations, Kayla goes through her morning routine: following a YouTube “everyday makeup tutorial,” she spackles her skin with concealer, lines her eyes, and blow-dries her hair.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 1, 2018
Roughly 35 people attended the Monday event at Extended Beauty Bar, where Hobdy and her team of stylists did an array of services, including wash and blow-drys, haircuts and trims, silk presses and hair extensions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2025
How wonderful to be blessed to get my hair done,’” said Martin, 60, who got her hair washed and blow-dried, dyed black and braided down in a protective style so she can wear wigs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2025
In the village hairdressers, Patricia, 65, who has just finished having her hair blow-dried, says Landais Alzheimer has given her her life back.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023
These ethereal insulating kits, comprised of double-sided tape and plastic film, become nearly invisible when blow-dried.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
Granted, this is not the regular political fare voters are accustomed to hearing from cautious, poll-tested, blow-dried politicians.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 20, 2023
He was dressed, brushed, coiffed, and blow-dried not just to be seen but to be looked at.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
We first hear the song as Tony is getting ready to go out, blow-drying his hair, trying on various gold chains and meticulously buttoning his best dress shirt.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2022
Think “Best in Show” without the blow-drying or hair spray.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2022
I’ve stopped blow-drying my hair — I used to blow-dry and iron everything — but now I have to figure out what my hair wants to do.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2021
That she gets credit for not blow-drying her naturally curly hair and is lauded as not “typical D.C. political offspring” for adopting a Bushwick aesthetic feels slightly absurd.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2021
In any event, this was not a moment of high glamour for me, not a time I could really imagine blow-drying my hair and putting on a business suit.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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