dry
Americanadjective
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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.
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not yielding milk.
a dry cow.
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free from tears.
dry eyes.
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drained or evaporated away.
a dry river.
-
desiring drink; thirsty.
He was so dry he could hardly speak.
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causing thirst.
dry work.
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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
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redryverb
-
predryverb (used with object)
-
underdryverb (used with object)
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dryableadjective
-
overdryadjective
-
ultradryadjective
-
undryadjective
-
undryableadjective
-
drylyadverb
-
overdrylyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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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:
Citing dangerously dry brush conditions, the City Council approved the declaration this week to reduce the risk of fires associated with homeless individuals cooking outdoors or using fire to keep warm at night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
This is why when the trust funds run dry, payments will fall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
With climate change driving new heat records and longer dry spells in Europe and beyond, scientists warn that the problem will intensify in coming years.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The fire service also warned drivers not to park on dry grass as the underside of vehicles can reach over 400C.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Aunt J made a feast, but I just nibble on the end of my dry toast.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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
High pressure causes colder air to sink in the atmosphere, where it compresses, warms up and dries out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
As the liquid dries, the suspended particles inside can gather into uneven patterns.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
"The sweat dries," she said, watching the blades turn, "but these gusts are hard for an old body to bear."
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
Back in his hotel room, Sax copied Hall’s notes onto a newspaper using milk for ink—milk makes good invisible ink because once it dries it can’t be seen unless the paper is heated.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
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
The UK is now seeing the kind of hotter, drier summers climate scientists have long projected, part of a global pattern of heat.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
It usually causes drier conditions in Southeast Asia and India.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
In India and Southeast Asia, it typically causes drier conditions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Every time we burn fossil fuels, it adds more chemicals to the atmosphere that trap more heat, creating a positive feedback loop that makes everything hotter and drier.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
The land was drier than elsewhere—making people less prone to malaria—and it was here, on the unused green fields, that some of the best cricket was played.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
It was the driest July in both England and Wales since records began in 1836.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
July has been the sunniest month on record for the UK, as well as the driest July on record for England and Wales.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
“Of all the dams I have built and of all the dams I have ever seen, it was the driest dam of its size I ever saw in my life.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
It comes after the driest July for England and Wales since Met Office records began 190 years ago, external.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
For months on end, the activity in the courtroom consisted of the driest legal maneuvering imaginable.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Inside there are tiny cauliflowers, brown and dried up.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Later, repeated heat waves and a period of drought dried out that vegetation, turning it into abundant fuel.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Vibrant and intense, but light on the palate, with complex flavors and aromas of purple flowers, dried herbs, baking spices, raspberry and cranberry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
"It's never dried up this much before," fisherman Rossen Dobrev told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
He lay on his back, staring up at the dried mushrooms strung across his ceiling.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The Interior Department called it a flexible approach “to respond to changing conditions” on the drying river through 2036.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Warmer air absorbs more water, drying out vegetation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Cooking and drying clothes indoors can also increase humidity, making it harder for sweat to evaporate.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
France has been battered by three heatwaves since May, part of increasingly frequent extreme weather episodes linked to climate change, causing thousands of excess deaths, drying up rivers and fuelling wildfires.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
By the time I finished drying them, my stomach cramping had eased, but I didn’t feel hungry anymore.
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
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.
