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dry

dry

1 9.3
A person who supports banning alcohol
  • noun
  • /draɪ/
  • Archaic
: prohibicionista
  • Recently, the dry delivered a speech emphasizing the dangers of alcohol consumption.

Examples

  • The man had left her high and dry a month before Aubrey was born.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The faculty were badly split between dries who favored this person and wets who could not abide him.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The dry advocated for stricter laws to prevent alcohol sales in the community.

  • As a dry, she often organized events that promoted sobriety among young people.

Synonyms

2 8.0

A person who wants to ban alcohol or other drugs

focuses only on banning alcoholic beverages specifically

Idioms

high and dry
  • Informal
17 6.3

Someone has no help or basic things in a difficult situation

5 7.8

To do something very boring and slow

home and dry
  • Informal
1 5.8

Someone has finished something safely and is not likely to fail

1 8.9

A person who lacks experience and maturity in new situations

Very boring and hard to pay attention to

A stream or river that flows very little because it is dry

Compounds

65 2.5

Cleaning clothes or fabrics using a special liquid instead of water

32 1.6

A person or shop that cleans clothes with chemicals instead of water

30 1.5

A shop that cleans clothes without using water

27 1.0

The solid ground on Earth that is not under the sea

dry ice
  • Specialized
22 3.9

A very cold solid made from carbon dioxide used to keep things frozen and make white fog

17 3.6

A period with little or no rain that can mean a time without success

16 4.1

Clear and simple, not likely to change

13 4.1

A practice session before an event to check for problems

11 2.8

A period with very little rain in tropical areas

10 3.2

Completely dry with no water left

dry dock
  • Specialized
8 6.1

A place where workers empty the water so they can build or fix a ship's bottom

dry mouth
  • Specialized
7 3.2

A dry feeling in the mouth when you do not make enough saliva

dry eye
  • Specialized
5 4.0

A problem when the eyes do not make enough tears and feel uncomfortable

dry wall
  • Specialized
5 5.6

A low stone wall made by fitting stones together without cement

5 5.3

Jokes said in a serious, calm voice so they sound like real statements

4 3.4

Completely dry with no moisture

dry rot
  • Specialized
4 6.3

A serious fungus that makes wood dry, crumbly and weak

dry hole
  • Jargon
4 7.7

An attempt that has no result, like a well that finds no oil

1 4.7

Low bushes or plants that grow close to the ground in dry areas

1 3.7

Able to dry when hung up after washing without needing ironing

dry fly
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A small fake insect that floats on the water to attract fish

1 1.0

A breakfast food like flakes or puffs you eat with milk without cooking

1 2.5

Powder made from the small seeds of a plant used to add strong taste to food

1 2.4

Powdered milk you get by removing water from milk so it lasts a long time

1 2.5

A hard plain baked snack with little moisture or taste

1 2.8

Snow that has little or no water and does not stick together

An area of land with little water and few plants

dry brush
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A way of painting that uses very little paint to make a rough, scratchy texture

1 5.9

A pale, slightly bitter wine flavored with herbs and used in cocktails

A wall made of stones fitted together without mortar

1 4.0

A wine or drink that is not sweet and is only slightly dry

dry cell
  • Specialized
1 4.0

A small battery with a moist paste inside that gives power to devices like a flashlight

dry battery
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A small source of electricity used in devices like radios or flashlights that has no liquid

1 8.2

A dry stream bed that fills with water quickly after heavy rain in a desert

1 9.9

To keep your feet or shoes dry when crossing wet ground

Powder made from milk with no fat that you mix with water

1 4.1

A brush with stiff hairs used on dry skin to remove dead skin and help blood flow

dry plate
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A glass plate with a light-sensitive coating used by early photographers

air-dry
  • Specialized
1 4.1

Dry enough that it does not give off water when left in the air

floating dry dock
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A portable structure that sinks so a ship can enter and then lifts it out for repair

dry gangrene
  • Specialized
1 8.3

Dead skin and flesh that become dry and dark when blood flow stops, often in a toe or foot

dry kiln
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A heated oven that removes water from wood for building or furniture

dry measure
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A unit for measuring how much space dry goods like grain or fruit take

dry point
  • Specialized
1 9.5

A steel needle used to engrave a copper plate directly without acid

1 8.9

A clear, bright light that makes sharp shadows and shows details without glare

1 2.0

A tool with a dry soft head used to remove dust from floors without water

dry socket
  • Specialized
1 8.9

Severe pain in the empty hole after a tooth is removed when the blood clot falls out

1 9.9

A way to make photographs on glass plates with a thin light-sensitive layer

dry-gulching
  • Offensive
1 9.9

An attack in which someone hides and kills another person by surprise in a lonely place

dry walling
  • Specialized
1 6.8

Building stone walls by fitting stones together without mortar

dry nurse
  • Archaic
8.2

A woman who cares for a baby but does not breastfeed it

dry pint
  • Specialized
6.6

A US unit for measuring dry food and goods equal to about 550 millilitres

dry point
  • Specialized
8.9

A print made by scratching a metal plate with a hard needle to make dark, soft lines

dry quart
  • Specialized
7.2

A US measure for dry goods equal to two dry pints, about 1.1 liters

dry masonry
  • Specialized
7.5

A way of building walls by laying stones together without mortar

dry unit
  • Specialized
7.0

A unit for measuring dry goods like grain or fruit

dry walling
  • Specialized
3.4

Fixing flat wall panels to make inside walls and ceilings

dry-bulb thermometer
  • Specialized
6.5

A device that measures air temperature with a dry bulb

dry-wood termite
  • Specialized
8.1

A small insect that lives in and eats dry wood not touching the ground

8.3

A unit used in the United States to measure dry things like grain

Surface Forms

dry singular
dries plural

Etymology

Dry as a noun for a person who wants alcohol banned comes from calling places 'dry' meaning 'no alcohol'. So a dry is someone who supports not selling or drinking alcoholic drinks.