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.
Autopsies show that the lions, aged three to 15, had suffered from dehydration and multiple organ failure - suggesting heat was the cause, said the zoo.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Both of the people had “significant underlying health conditions” that may have been exacerbated by cyclosporiasis and dehydration, Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
It is generally not life-threatening, but can cause dehydration.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
The illness generally isn’t deadly, but diarrhea—which if untreated may last a month—can cause dangerous dehydration.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
In the scorching April heat, many older people become ill from heatstroke and dehydration, but they dare not rest.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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.
