dried-up
Americanadjective
-
depleted of water or moisture; gone dry.
a dried-up water hole.
-
shriveled with age; wizened.
a dried-up old mule skinner.
Etymology
Origin of dried-up
First recorded in 1810–20
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.
It was immortalized by the composer Johann Strauss II as “The Blue Danube,” but the views from today’s cruise-ship windows are heavy on the grey-brown hues of dried-up riverbeds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
With multiple trail options, the hillsides of this dried-up river valley are rife with vibrant blooms, particularly bush sunflowers and lacy phacelia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Ailton Krenak, from Brazil, talked of rivers that that had been "erased by money" and seeing the dried-up, polluted waterways was like a much-loved "grandfather in a coma".
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025
Ingenuity remains in contact with its companion, the Perseverance rover, which has been exploring a dried-up river bed for signs of extinct Martian life.
From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2024
It was the color of a dried-up rose, and Seven thought it was really pretty.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
