dehydration

[ dee-hahy-drey-shuhn ]
See synonyms for dehydration on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act or process of dehydrating.

  2. an abnormal loss of water from the body, especially from illness or physical exertion.

Origin of dehydration

1
First recorded in1850–55; dehydrate + -ion

Words Nearby dehydration

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dehydration in a sentence

Scientific definitions for dehydration

dehydration

[ dē′hī-drāshən ]


  1. The process of losing or removing water or moisture.

  2. 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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for dehydration

dehydration

The removal of water; in chemistry, the loss of two hydrogen atoms for every oxygen atom (see H2O).

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.