dehydrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deprive (a chemical compound) of water or the elements of water.
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to free (fruit, vegetables, etc.) from moisture for preservation; dry.
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to remove water from (the body or a tissue).
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to deprive of spirit, force, or meaning; render less interesting or effectual.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to lose or cause to lose water; make or become anhydrous
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to lose or cause to lose hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms in the proportions in which they occur in water, as in a chemical reaction
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to lose or deprive of water, as the body or tissues
Related Words
See evaporate.
Other Word Forms
- dehydration noun
- dehydrator noun
Etymology
Origin of dehydrate
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.
"To see nanoscale structures with standard electron microscopy, we fix and dehydrate the tissues, but freezing them retains their shape -- similar to freezing a grape rather than dehydrating it into a raisin," says Watanabe.
From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2024
Mehta recommends switching to a hydrating, more cream based, cleanser and also decreasing application of products such as retinoids, exfoliant, and vitamin C, which can dehydrate skin.
From National Geographic • Nov. 28, 2023
Pumpkins give them diarrhoea - they lose weight, dehydrate and "will struggle to survive hibernation", he said.
From BBC • Oct. 31, 2022
A moist environment is required as eggs lack a shell and thus dehydrate quickly in dry environments.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
It was important that they did not dehydrate.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
