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hydration

American  
[hahy-dray-shuhn] / haɪˈdreɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. the act or process of supplying water to oneself, another person, or a part of the body.

  2. the act or process of chemically hydrating something.


Explanation

Hydration is what happens when something absorbs water. If your favorite plant is brown and droopy, it may need hydration — or it may be time to buy a new plant! Hydration comes from the verb hydrate, which was originally defined as "form a hydrate" (a chemical compound that includes water), but eventually came to also mean "to restore moisture." Whenever you moisten or add water to something, including drinking a nice big cold glass of water when you're thirsty, that's hydration.

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Vocabulary lists containing hydration

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:

Austin arrives inside the stadium by the game’s first hydration break, scanning the VIP lounge for a Coca-Cola.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 18, 2026

Plus plenty of punditry, whether on a Brooklyn balcony or in a Salford studio, glamorous celebrities, hydration break controversies and online watch parties with the likes of IShowSpeed.

From BBC Jul. 17, 2026

Fox made at least $250 million on the hydration break ads alone, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

From MarketWatch Jul. 17, 2026

Fifa brought in hydration breaks for this World Cup - a move Infantino said was "purely a sporting matter" with no additional revenue for the governing body.

From BBC Jul. 16, 2026

My father has always stressed the importance of diversification, and I like to think that I’ve acquired a diversified portfolio from my hydration business—a portfolio I plan to turn for a profit on eBay.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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