dry well

American  

noun

1. a drainage pit lined with loose stonework for the leaching of liquid wastes.

2. absorbing well.

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Etymology

Origin of dry well

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

He added: "I will not go quietly. I will not be cancelled for convenience. I was tried by media and hung out to dry well before the facts were established."

From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025

A Bend, Oregon, man who went missing on Christmas Day was found alive and in good condition in a dry well inside a gated storage unit facility, local police said.

From Washington Times • Dec. 29, 2023

California has recorded 1,287 dry well reports across the state this year, a 50 percent increase since 2021.

From Salon • Oct. 26, 2022

“It’s been so dry this last year. We didn’t get much rain. We didn’t get much snowpack,” Moore said, standing next to a dry well on her property in Chowchilla, California.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 3, 2022

Then a little girl had seen the Virgencita swinging on the bucket that was kept decoratively dangling above the now dry well where she had once appeared back in the 1600s.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez