air-dry

American  

[air-drahy] / ˈɛərˌdraɪ /

verb (used with or without object)

air-dried, air-drying

1. to dry by exposure to the air.

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adjective

1. dry beyond further evaporation.

air-dry British  

verb

1. (tr) to dry by exposure to the air

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Etymology

Origin of air-dry

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

air-dry air-dried air-drying

And that unopened brick of air-dry clay that’s taunting you?

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 23, 2026

I cut the cheese and and bolillos into strips, and let them air-dry for a couple of days, like Mami used to do.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2022

Let the sieve air-dry on the counter for best results, since a towel probably won't be able to get to all the water in the small holes of your sieve.

From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2022

Let them air-dry for at least 30 minutes.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 28, 2022

Alaskan hunters know that the easiest way to preserve meat in the bush is to slice it into thin strips and then air-dry it on a makeshift rack.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

She leads nutrition education at the Feed Real Institute, an online certificate program founded in 2015 by Balaram, who also runs a company that sells air-dried dog treats like bull penis and rabbit feet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026

Scouring the movie, I could only find one example of a cultural clash: a woman bringing in a load of air-dried laundry from the snow and struggling to fold a baby onesie that’s frozen stiff.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2025

"This is because air-dried bitumen can be used unaltered as an adhesive, but loses its adhesive properties when such large proportions of ochre are added."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 21, 2024

The chicken is air-dried for a day before it’s roasted in a cast-iron skillet, making for a blistered skin that crackles at the touch of a knife.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2022

When that process was completed, the ship was slowly air-dried to remove any remaining moisture that had saturated the wood after having been immersed in seawater for so long.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

We involve him in air-drying clothes, and we explain why we must turn off the lights when we are done playing.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 5, 2023

The timbers were taken to an atmospherically controlled dry dock where they were sprayed with a mist of cold water, then water-soluble wax, before an air-drying process began.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2023

He dangled unwrapped jerky before the camera, describing traditional Mongolian air-drying techniques.

From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2023

Having a machine always running may not be ideal, but this is the most preferred method in regions with high humidity due to its slower air-drying times.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 26, 2021

The sink-rinsing and air-drying just isn’t the same as a good tumble in a machine.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti