dry up
Britishverb
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(intr) to become barren or unproductive; fail
in middle age his inspiration dried up
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to dry (dishes, cutlery, etc) with a tea towel after they have been washed
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informal (intr) to stop talking or speaking
when I got on the stage I just dried up
dry up!
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Gradually become unproductive, as in After two collections of short stories, his ability to write fiction dried up . Also see well's run dry .
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Stop talking; also, cause to stop talking. For example, Dry up! You've said enough . [ Slang ; mid-1800s]
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.
Payments for previously delivered cargoes would likely dry up by mid-December.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
But this year the Rockies had the least snow on record, and they’ve watched springs dry up and creeks dwindle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
If flowering plants begin to dry up, they produce less.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Without USMCA, the analysts caution that the capital needed to expand and modernize energy infrastructure could dry up.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
The next day the sun was out, but when we came to Shirls Avenue, I could see that the sun hadn’t done a thing to dry up the hill.
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
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.
