parch

[ pahrch ]
See synonyms for: parchparchedparching on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to make extremely, excessively, or completely dry, as heat, sun, and wind do.

  2. to make dry, hot, or thirsty: Walking in the sun parched his throat.

  1. to dry (peas, beans, grain, etc.) by exposure to heat without burning; to toast or roast slightly: A staple of the Indian diet was parched corn.

  2. to dry or shrivel with cold.

verb (used without object)
  1. to suffer from heat, thirst, or need of water.

  2. to become parched; undergo drying by heat.

  1. to dry (usually followed by up).

Origin of parch

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English perchen; further origin unknown

Other words for parch

Opposites for parch

Other words from parch

  • parch·a·ble, adjective
  • parch·ing·ly, adverb
  • un·parch·ing, adjective

Words Nearby parch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use parch in a sentence

  • She persuaded the women of the land to parch with fire the seed of the corn that their husbands sowed in the earth.

    Stories of the Old world | Alfred John Church
  • You shall always blow in the hot, dry weather, and shall parch and shrivel all living things.

    Old Deccan Days | M. Frere

British Dictionary definitions for parch

parch

/ (pɑːtʃ) /


verb
  1. to deprive or be deprived of water; dry up: the sun parches the fields

  2. (tr; usually passive) to make very thirsty: I was parched after the run

  1. (tr) to roast (corn, etc) lightly

Origin of parch

1
C14: of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012