dry
Americanadjective
-
free from moisture or excess moisture; not moist; not wet.
a dry towel; dry air.
- Antonyms:
- wet
-
having or characterized by little or no rain.
a dry climate; the dry season.
-
characterized by absence, deficiency, or failure of natural or ordinary moisture.
-
not under, in, or on water.
It was good to be on dry land.
-
not now containing or yielding water or other liquid; depleted or empty of liquid.
The well is dry.
-
not yielding milk.
a dry cow.
-
free from tears.
dry eyes.
-
drained or evaporated away.
a dry river.
-
desiring drink; thirsty.
He was so dry he could hardly speak.
-
causing thirst.
dry work.
-
served or eaten without butter, jam, etc..
dry toast.
-
(of cooked food) lacking enough moisture or juice to be satisfying or succulent.
-
(of bread and bakery products) stale.
-
of or relating to nonliquid substances or commodities.
dry measure; dry provisions.
-
(of wines) not sweet.
-
(of a cocktail)
-
made with dry vermouth.
a dry Manhattan.
-
made with relatively little dry vermouth.
a dry martini.
-
-
characterized by or favoring prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors for use in beverages.
a dry state.
-
(of British biscuits) not sweet.
-
plain; bald; unadorned.
dry facts.
-
dull; uninteresting.
a dry subject.
- Antonyms:
- interesting
-
expressed in a straight-faced, matter-of-fact way.
dry humor.
-
indifferent; cold; unemotional.
a dry answer.
-
unproductive.
The greatest of artists have dry years.
-
(of lumber) fully seasoned.
-
Building Trades.
-
(of masonry construction) built without fresh mortar or cement.
-
(of a wall, ceiling, etc., in an interior) finished without the use of fresh plaster.
-
-
Ceramics.
-
insufficiently glazed.
-
Art. hard and formal in outline, or lacking mellowness and warmth in color.
verb (used with object)
-
dries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dried,
past participle, past
-
drying
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
dries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dried,
past participle, past
-
drying
present participle
noun
-
drys,
plural
-
dries
plural
-
a prohibitionist.
-
a dry place, area, or region.
verb phrase
-
dry out
-
to make or become completely dry.
-
to undergo or cause to undergo detoxification from consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol.
-
-
dry up
-
to make or become completely dry.
-
to cease to exist; evaporate.
-
Informal. to stop talking.
-
(in acting) to forget one's lines or part.
-
idioms
adjective
-
lacking moisture; not damp or wet
-
having little or no rainfall
-
not in or under water
dry land
-
having the water drained away or evaporated
a dry river
-
not providing milk
a dry cow
-
(of the eyes) free from tears
-
-
informal in need of a drink; thirsty
-
causing thirst
dry work
-
-
eaten without butter, jam, etc
dry toast
-
(of a wine, cider, etc) not sweet
-
pathol not accompanied by or producing a mucous or watery discharge
a dry cough
-
consisting of solid as opposed to liquid substances or commodities
-
without adornment; plain
dry facts
-
lacking interest or stimulation
a dry book
-
lacking warmth or emotion; cold
a dry greeting
-
(of wit or humour) shrewd and keen in an impersonal, sarcastic, or laconic way
-
opposed to or prohibiting the sale of alcoholic liquor for human consumption
a dry area
-
(of a ewe) without a lamb after the mating season
-
electronics (of a soldered electrical joint) imperfect because the solder has not adhered to the metal, thus reducing conductance
verb
-
to make or become dry or free from moisture
-
(tr) to preserve (meat, vegetables, fruit, etc) by removing the moisture
noun
-
informal a Conservative politician who is considered to be a hard-liner Compare wet
-
informal the dry season
-
an informal word for prohibitionist
Synonym Usage
Dry, arid both mean without moisture. Dry is the general word indicating absence of water or freedom from moisture: a dry well; dry clothes. Arid suggests great or intense dryness in a region or climate, especially such as results in bareness or in barrenness: arid tracts of desert. See evaporate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
drynessnoun
-
overdrynessnoun
-
redryverb
-
predryverb (used with object)
-
underdryverb (used with object)
-
dryableadjective
-
overdryadjective
-
ultradryadjective
-
undryadjective
-
undryableadjective
-
drylyadverb
-
overdrylyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
drysimple
-
driessimple
-
have driedperfect
-
has driedperfect
-
am dryingprogressive
-
are dryingprogressive
-
is dryingprogressive
-
have been dryingperfect progressive
-
has been dryingperfect progressive
Past
-
driedsimple
-
had driedperfect
-
was dryingprogressive
-
were dryingprogressive
-
had been dryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dry
First recorded before 900; Middle English drie, Old English drȳge; akin to Dutch droog, German trocken; see drought
Explanation
Things that are dry lack moisture. A desert or a dessert can be dry. If your eyes are dry, you’ve stopped crying. It’s also a flavor that means the opposite of sweet. The Sahara Desert and crumbly chocolate cake are both dry. Dry is also a verb — when you paint your kitchen, you have to wait for the first coat to dry before you can add another. If someone says you have a dry sense of humor, they mean that you have a subtle style, keeping a straight face even when you say something outrageous.
Vocabulary lists containing dry
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.
See Examples For:
Hydroelectric dams have proliferated across Southeast Asia in recent years, but production drops off in the dry season and critics lament the ecological impacts.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
Mature sequoias, namely ones that are hundreds of years old, can consume hundreds of gallons of water a day during dry summer days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
It may not be completely dry however as mist, fog and low cloud in the next week could bring some drizzle at times.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
In the longer run, that is “extremely bullish for gold,” he said, adding that Altavest has advised gold bugs “to keep their powder dry until year end.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
It was slow going, veering along in dry ruts.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
And the Hawk fire is the latest example of the growing threat of destructive urban conflagrations in these zones as the planet warms, vegetation dries out and wildfires become more destructive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
As a heat wave dries Germany's rivers, government ministers are at odds over what to do about it -- re-engineer the waterways or restore them to their natural state.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
But they are packaged into different tranches in order of who will get repaid first if the money dries up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
This air also dries out, meaning no clouds can form, so strong sunshine is able to heat the ground even further.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
When the paint dries, I start on Liberty herself.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
That really divided Whigs between drys and wets.
From Slate ● Apr. 5, 2017
So who are the other Washington VIPs queuing up for blow drys, yoga, personal training and makeup application in the comfort of their open concept living rooms?
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2015
And while profits from cuts, colouring and blow drys have remained static, in 2012 the salon's hair extension business has grown 60% year on year.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 28, 2012
But she nonetheless tells her very fellow drys that she can secure Nucky’s help in doing away with these neighborhood stashes.
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2010
It makes us wonder how the drys get from point to point.
From Pieces of Hate And Other Enthusiams by Heywood Broun
Sunday is due to be a drier day but still very windy with some sunshine and occasional passing showers.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
But some experts say the current megadrought, which has lasted more than two decades and is intensified by rising temperatures, is part of a long-term shift toward drier conditions in the Southwest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
That shift in where ocean heat is released into the atmosphere ripples across global weather, making some regions cooler and wetter and others hotter and drier.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
The heaviest of the rain has also been focused across Scotland and Northern Ireland while parts of England and Wales have continued to be much drier than normal.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
It went even drier when Drew clomped over to Taryn and asked her to dance.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
EA manager Vicki Townend said Yorkshire had seen its fifth driest period on record between April and September.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Last year was among the driest for the world's rivers in over three decades, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said in a report.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
July’s 6.5 millimeters of rain in England, about 0.25 inches, was the lowest since records began in 1836 and less than half the next driest July—in 1911.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
In other research, scientists found that the last quarter-century has probably been the driest in 1,200 years in Western North America, and that global warming is responsible for about 40% of the drought’s severity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
The Akkersons were the driest couple in town.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
As a prolonged cooling period reduced rainfall and dried out the continent, an extinct group of crocodiles adapted to increasingly arid, desert-like environments.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
King, who describes herself as “a dark-chocolate fanatic” as well as “a ginger fanatic,” helped steer their Dark & Stormy to nubs of dried ginger and toffee chips.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Many economists predicted growth would slow after the spring as spending from large tax refunds dried up and the U.S.-hosted World Cup ended.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
A checklist drawn up by the government recommends having nine litres of water per person – enough for three days – along with non-perishable food such as tinned meat and vegetables or dried fruit.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
She dried him with a towel and helped him down to the floor.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
But this mobility has collapsed, even as money for social services is drying up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
The debate over the drying out of the Scott River reflects long-standing disputes over how to keep water in the river and balance the competing needs of farmers and fish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
And when people return to their home countries -- whether voluntarily or under duress -- help is also drying up, said UNHCR.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Manufacturers say that increasing production takes time and is costly, as producing high-protein whey requires specialist processing and drying equipment.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Mama answered as she finished drying a serving bowl and put down her dish towel.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
