dehydration
Americannoun
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dehydrations
plural
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the act or process of dehydrating.
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an abnormal loss of water from the body, especially from illness or physical exertion.
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The process of losing or removing water or moisture.
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A condition caused by the excessive loss of water from the body, which causes a rise in blood sodium levels. Since dehydration is most often caused by excessive sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea, water loss is usually accompanied by a deficiency of electrolytes. If untreated, severe dehydration can lead to shock.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dehydration
Explanation
Dehydration is what happens when something has water removed from it. Dehydration makes people extremely thirsty, and it can make plants grow droopy and brown. During dehydration, moisture is lost without being replaced. In humans, dehydration can happen during strenuous exercise or in extreme heat — or simply when someone doesn't drink enough water for a certain length of time. A grape becomes a raisin through dehydration, shriveling and drying as moisture is removed. Dehydration and dehydrate, first used only by scientists, have a Greek root, hydro, "water."
Vocabulary lists containing dehydration
Elements of the Universe: Hydr, Hydro ("Water")
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Dry
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hydr, hydro
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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.
Bad things happen when we don’t get enough of it, the main one being dehydration, a leading preventable cause of hospitalizations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
People with diarrhea and a high fever, prolonged diarrhea or vomiting, or signs of dehydration should contact their medical provider immediately, the CDC said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
He was taken to hospital in February on the Spanish island of Tenerife while suffering from an infection and dehydration.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The two patients who died may have had underlying health conditions that made them particularly vulnerable to the gastrointestinal illness and dehydration that can come with the disease, Michigan public health officials said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The symptoms of cholera were severe vomiting and diarrhea, leading to dehydration, weakness, and often death.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
