drip-dry

American  

[drip-drahy, drip-drahy, -drahy] / ˈdrɪpˌdraɪ, ˈdrɪpˈdraɪ, -ˌdraɪ /

adjective

1. wash-and-wear.

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verb (used without object)

drip-dried, drip-drying

1. (of a cloth item) to dry into a desired form and shape when hung dripping wet after washing.

verb (used with object)

drip-dried, drip-drying

1. to hang (a cloth item) after washing while it is dripping wet and allow it to dry, especially in anticipation of its assuming its desired form and shape during the drying process.

noun

drip-dries plural

1. a garment or other cloth item that can be washed and drip-dried.

drip-dry British  

adjective

1. designating clothing or a fabric that will dry relatively free of creases if hung up when wet

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verb

1. to dry or become dry thus

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• drip-dries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of drip-dry

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

drip-dry drip-drying

Instead, do a separate socks-and-underwear laundry load and invest in an octopus drying contraption to drip-dry them and prepare to pair with no stragglers.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 21, 2019

I worked there, standing in a drip-dry white coat with a picture of a little Italian man and “Mr REAlly Good” written on the pocket.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 22, 2016

You could just sort of drip-dry it and shake it.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2012

Among them: Haymaker's flowery separates in a drip-dry warp knit, $29.95 each; and countless, nameless nylon shifts, $10 and up.

From Time Magazine Archive

“One good thing about the ski crowd,” she remarked, “they may track in snow, but they don’t bother to drip-dry a lot of clothes and clutter up the bathrooms.”

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary

Both vehicles — like the other cars drip-drying here on Monday night — bore a muddy filigree from the recently receded floodwaters, caked onto their formerly shiny bodies like rings in a bathtub.

From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2020

About a quarter of the workforce is employed in the gaming sector: white croupier shirts can be seen drip-drying on the washing lines outside many a Macanese apartment.

From Time ● Sep. 23, 2014

When I visited Wen in Hong Kong in April, he was living in a temporary apartment with a row of shirts drip-drying in the window.

From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2011

We left the stone giant behind and set off through the woods toward the foot of the bluff, our clothes drip-drying quickly in the heat.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs