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.
Running a big food company these days is like fishing in a dried-up pond.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
Just outside her house, a large patch of dried-up shower gel marks the spot where one of the residents bathed earlier, in the open, with privacy provided only by the darkness before sunrise.
From BBC • Jul. 14, 2024
Ingenuity remains in contact with its companion, the Perseverance rover, which has been exploring a dried-up riverbed for signs of extinct Martian life.
From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2024
It is not uncommon to see buildings on dried-up river beds which turn into torrents in heavy rain.
From Reuters • Nov. 21, 2023
I always liked bees and honey and it made me feel better to think of bees than being some old dead mummy with a dried-up walnut brain.
From "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key" by Jack Gantos
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.
