dry
Americanadjective
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free from moisture or excess moisture; not moist; not wet.
a dry towel; dry air.
- Antonyms:
- wet
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having or characterized by little or no rain.
a dry climate; the dry season.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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(of cooked food) lacking enough moisture or juice to be satisfying or succulent.
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(of bread and bakery products) stale.
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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.
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made with relatively little dry vermouth.
a dry martini.
-
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characterized by or favoring prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors for use in beverages.
a dry state.
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(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.
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indifferent; cold; unemotional.
a dry answer.
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unproductive.
The greatest of artists have dry years.
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(of lumber) fully seasoned.
-
Building Trades.
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(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.
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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.
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(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
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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
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(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
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drynessnoun
-
overdrynessnoun
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redryverb
-
predryverb (used with object)
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underdryverb (used with object)
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dryableadjective
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overdryadjective
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ultradryadjective
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undryadjective
-
undryableadjective
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drylyadverb
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overdrylyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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drysimple
-
driessimple
-
have driedperfect
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has driedperfect
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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:
Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is hoping 2026 could be a “bumper summer of butterflies” because warm, dry days mean uninterrupted foraging, mating and egg-laying.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
In the warm, dry spring a glut of glorious foundresses – new queens – emerged from hibernation to start their nests alone, carrying out all the nest building, egg laying, foraging and brood rearing.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
When this dry, dusty layer of air is directed across the Atlantic, it prevents storms from growing.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
In Arizona, streams are mostly dry, and the state has many water-intensive mining projects, each with systems for draining stormwater and disposing of water used in minerals processing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
I stopped along the way to snack the dogs on dry food and bits of meat.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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
One of the biggest advantages of the technique is that the bubbles disappear completely as the droplet dries, leaving behind no residue.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
In many parts of the island, the soil’s high clay content causes deep fractures to form as it dries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
“If you look closely, you can see that his jacket is dry, not wet. He was disguised to look like he was injured in the battle, but blood dries brown, not bright red.”
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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
As the river of that name that runs away from itself when it rains and drys up when it is clear, is so uncertain, the name Allegheny does not appeal to the masses.
From Watch Yourself Go By by Ben W. Warden
Southern and southwestern areas were even drier, receiving less than 20 percent of normal rainfall.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
Higher pressure keeps things much drier across the southern half of England and Wales, where drought conditions and hosepipe bans continue.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
It won't be raining all week though, with drier interludes especially on Thursday morning and throughout Saturday.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
As the atmosphere became drier, that insulating effect weakened, and temperatures dropped further.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
“Sure, I’m skinny,” he said as they hurried back through the stables, “but I stay drier in the rain.”
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Precipitation was below average, ranking in the driest third on record for both August and for the June-August period, and drought covered nearly 60 percent of the contiguous US by September 1.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 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 orchard is 25 years old, and this is by far the driest year they have had.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
New Guinea is one of the wettest areas on Earth, Australia one of the driest.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
“Immediately noticeable were the sagging eaves, the multitude of leaks from the roof, the dried out, splintered mahogany and the battered exterior woodwork, which had suffered seven decades of winds from the Sound.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Instead of racing through trees and vegetation, these fires smolder through dried wetland soils and large deposits of peat, often continuing underground at relatively low temperatures.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
Chef Norbert Niederkofler talked about his book “Cook the Mountain,” which is made with apple paper and bound in dried apple skin, and how sustainability in food can influence sustainability in fashion.
From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026
Subsequent years saw a drawn-out struggle across the industry to complete construction projects as shares plunged and cash flows dried up.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
I loved that soup, and I hoped she was going to put lots of dried fish in it.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
It contained its own complete production line, including a drying turbine -- but wasn't as big as another recently dismantled facility that employed some 50 people.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
The drying can become even more pronounced when El Niño occurs alongside a positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole, which was also underway.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
In the Rocky Mountains, years of extreme heat and drought have baked the landscape, drying up streams that feed the Colorado River and desiccating pastures where cattle graze.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
With the sun breaking through and a drying wind, the wicket flattened out and batting seemed to be becoming easier than on day one.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The sun was scorching, the fields were baking, the pond was drying up, and foul odors were floating all throughout the dairy.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
