dry up


verb(adverb)
  1. (intr) to become barren or unproductive; fail: in middle age his inspiration dried up

  2. to dry (dishes, cutlery, etc) with a tea towel after they have been washed

  1. (intr) informal to stop talking or speaking: when I got on the stage I just dried up; dry up!

Words Nearby dry up

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

How to use dry up in a sentence

Other Idioms and Phrases with dry up

dry up

Gradually become unproductive, as in After two collections of short stories, his ability to write fiction dried up. Also see well's run dry.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.