drought

[ drout ]

See synonyms for: drought droughts on Thesaurus.com

noun

a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops.
an extended shortage: a drought of good writing.

Archaic. thirst.

Origin of drought

First recordedbefore 1000; Middle English; Old English drūgath, equivalent to drūg- (base of drȳge “dry”) + -ath noun suffix; cognate with Dutch droogte “dryness”; see dry, -th¹

Also drouth [drouth] /draʊθ/ .

pronunciation note For drought

Drought and drouth, nouns derived from the adjective dry plus a suffix, are spellings that represent two phonetic developments of the same Old English word, and are pronounced

[drout] /draʊt/ and

[drouth] /draʊθ/ respectively. The latter pronunciation, therefore, is not a mispronunciation of drought. The now unproductive suffix -th1 and its alternate form -t were formerly used to derive nouns from adjectives or verbs, resulting in such pairs as drouth — drought from dry and highth—height (the former now obsolete) from high.
In American English, drought with the pronunciation

[drout] /draʊt/ is common everywhere in educated speech, and is the usual printed form.

Other words for drought

2	scarcity, lack, want, dearth, paucity, famine

See synonyms for drought on Thesaurus.com

Words that may be confused with drought

draught, drought

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use drought in a sentence

The main and the north fork of the Canadian are exemptions from the effects of summer drouth.
The Indian in his Wigwam | Henry R. Schoolcraft
That was the year of the "drouth," and he apprised the brethren where he preached of the destitution in Kansas.
Personal Recollections of Pardee Butler | Pardee Butler
At which thing one of his chamberleins maruelling, asked the cause of his drouth.
Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (3 of 6): England (7 of 9) | Raphael Holinshed
The creek filled to its banks, the field and garden freshened in a day, and the new ranch threw off the blight of summer drouth.
Wells Brothers | Andy Adams
The drouth was telling on Glendon's small herd, but he had more important things to think about now.
The Long Dim Trail | Forrestine C. Hooker

British Dictionary definitions for drought

drought

/ (draʊt) /

noun

a prolonged period of scanty rainfall
a prolonged shortage

an archaic or dialect word for thirst Archaic and Scot form: drouth

Origin of drought

Old English drūgoth; related to Dutch droogte; see dry

Derived forms of drought

droughty, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for drought

drought

[ drout ]

A long period of abnormally low rainfall, lasting up to several years.

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