drought
a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops.
an extended shortage: a drought of good writing.
Archaic. thirst.
Origin of drought
1- Also drouth [drouth] /draʊθ/ .
pronunciation note For drought
In American English, drought with the pronunciation [drout] /draʊt/ is common everywhere in educated speech, and is the usual printed form.
Other words for drought
Words that may be confused with drought
- draught, drought
Words Nearby drought
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use drought in a sentence
It has also been extremely dry in California, Oregon, and Washington this summer, with large sections of each state under “severe drought” conditions and some areas reaching “extreme drought.”
“Unprecedented”: What’s behind the California, Oregon, and Washington wildfires | Umair Irfan | September 11, 2020 | VoxWe also just had a wet winter, meaning the reservoirs and soils aren’t as parched as they have been during past droughts.
Morning Report: MTS Enforcement Chief Departing | Voice of San Diego | July 28, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoCold summers, drought, famine and plague devastated societies around the world.
How Earth’s Climate Changes Naturally (and Why Things Are Different Now) | Howard Lee | July 21, 2020 | Quanta MagazineThat’s the amount the United Nations has agreed would prevent catastrophic climate change – like seas that swallow whole coastal cities, really, really bad wildfires and unbearable droughts.
Environment Report: The Latest Power Struggles for SDG&E and Sempra | MacKenzie Elmer | June 29, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoSo the team only enters the deep chambers during periods of drought.
The challenge of dinosaur hunting in deep caves | John Pickrell | May 19, 2020 | Science News For Students
It was captioned Preserve Your Forests From Destruction And Protect Your Country From Floods And drought.
The Magazine That Made—and Unmade—Politicians | Anthony Haden-Guest | November 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNext, Borlaug helped develop more productive and drought-resistant strains of rice that became adapted widely in Asia.
From the drought in California to the women of ENIAC, The Daily Beast picks the best journalism from around the web this week.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Sept. 22-28, 2014 | John Boot | September 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe drought is now killing off century-old California farms.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Sept. 22-28, 2014 | John Boot | September 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTCoping with drought and marginal soils was a continual struggle.
‘The Harness Maker’s Dream:’ The Unlikely Ranch King of Texas | Nick Kotz | September 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTobacco is a strong growing plant resisting heat and drought to a far (p. 018) greater extent than most plants.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.Conditions in the new country had gone from bad to worse, and if the season should experience another drought, the worst was come.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxOne day she had heard a man say, "If there is a drought we shall have the devil to pay with our stock before winter is over."
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonOf this we have a characteristic example in the ceremony of the aquaelicium, designed to produce rain after a long drought.
The Religion of Ancient Rome | Cyril BaileyA drought upon her waters, and they shall be dried up: because it is a land of idols, and they glory in monstrous things.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
British Dictionary definitions for drought
/ (draʊt) /
a prolonged period of scanty rainfall
a prolonged shortage
an archaic or dialect word for thirst Archaic and Scot form: drouth
Origin of drought
1Derived forms of drought
- droughty, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for drought
[ drout ]
A long period of abnormally low rainfall, lasting up to several years.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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