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
-
blow-dries
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
blow-drysimple
-
blow-driessimple
-
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
Before dogs enter the ring, groomers blow-dry the bellies of Tibetan spaniels, unfurl curlers from the muzzles of snow-white Malteses and spritz the coiffed, cloudlike bobs of bichon frisés.
From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2023
When you step out on a mat, heaters come on that blow-dry your body.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
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
Traditional services including cuts, blow-dries and colour treatments will also be available.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2021
It’s very long and very ’70s, with some real big blow-dries going on and huge crests and things.
From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2018
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
I've delicately massaged the wings with a mixture of salt and brown sugar, and I've looked like a lunatic blow-drying my bird in pursuit of golden-brown, crispy skin.
From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2022
Think “Best in Show” without the blow-drying or hair spray.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2022
In the past, my wife has sometimes babied C. and done things for her that she could have done on her own, like clipping her nails or blow-drying her hair.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2021
But around two years ago, she was getting ready for work by blow-drying her hair when she noticed smoke and the smell of burning.
From The Verge ● Jan. 28, 2020
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
