dry up

verb

1. (intr) to become barren or unproductive; fail

   in middle age his inspiration dried up

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

3. informal,  (intr) to stop talking or speaking

   when I got on the stage I just dried up

   dry up!

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Related Words

• abate 
• curb 
• curtail 
• cut down 
• decline 
• depreciate 
• deteriorate 
• diminish 
• drop 
• drop off 
• dwindle 
• ease 
• ebb 
• fall off 
• lessen 
• lower 
• reduce 
• shrink 
• sink 
• slacken