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

When Vasquez left his job with the town of Willcox and started working for a company that manages small water systems across the county, he encountered the same dry well crisis everywhere he went.

From Salon • Oct. 26, 2022

For four days, the team worked to safely retrieve Rayan, who fell into a dry well and became trapped between its narrow walls, in the village of Ighran in Morocco’s northern Chefchaouen province.

From Washington Post • Feb. 5, 2022

“You look as low as a toad in a dry well, chile.”

From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper