desiccate

American  

[des-i-keyt] / ˈdɛs ɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

desiccated, desiccating

1. to dry thoroughly; dry up.

2. to preserve (food) by removing moisture; dehydrate.

---

verb (used without object)

desiccated, desiccating

1. to become thoroughly dried or dried up.

desiccate British  

/ ˈdɛsɪˌkeɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to remove most of the water from (a substance or material); dehydrate

2. (tr) to preserve (food) by removing moisture; dry

3. (intr) to become dried up

---

desiccate Scientific  

/ dĕs′ĭ-kāt′ /

1. To remove the moisture from something or dry it thoroughly.

2. ◆ A desiccator is a container that removes moisture from the air within it.

3. ◆ A desiccator contains a desiccant, a substance that traps or absorbs water molecules. Some desiccants include silica gel (silicon dioxide), calcium sulfate (dehydrated gypsum), calcium oxide (calcined lime), synthetic molecular sieves (porous crystalline aluminosilicates), and dried clay.

---

Other Word Forms

• desiccation noun
• desiccative adjective

Etymology

Origin of desiccate

1565–75; < Latin dēsiccātus dried up, past participle of dēsiccāre, equivalent to dē- de- + siccāre, derivative of siccus dry; -ate ¹

Explanation

The verb desiccate means to dry out, dry up and dehydrate. It's helpful to desiccate weeds but certainly not crops. As anyone who's been stuck in the desert will tell you, being desiccated by the burning sun isn't much fun. Stemming from the Latin word desiccare, which means to "dry up," desiccate also means to preserve something by drying it out. Without desiccation, raisins or beef jerky would not be possible!

Example Sentences

As Western drought and aridification desiccate soils, shrink mountain snowpack runoff and reduce river flows, irrigating alfalfa for dairy production will become more and more problematic.

From Salon • Oct. 29, 2022

There's "a critical point", though, when the tree can't replenish the water lost through pores in the leaves and will "literally desiccate" or dry up.

From BBC • Aug. 19, 2022

Museum curators tasked with preserving plastic artifacts know all too well that plastics discolor, desiccate, fissure and fracture, undergoing a range of physical changes, including becoming micro- and even nano-scaled particles.

From Washington Post • Jan. 14, 2022

But the winds also desiccate vegetation and create dangerous wildfire conditions.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2021

Now she seemed to desiccate by the moment.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill