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to dry

to dry

344 1.0
To become free of water or wetness
  • verb
  • /draɪ/
: secar
  • After washing the dishes, I will dry them with a towel.
  • dry quickly
  • dry in the sun
  • dry and store

Let that space of paper dry, come back and paint again.

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Examples

  • This will not fully dry the oil paint, but it'll help.

  • Let that space of paper dry, come back and paint again.

  • We're going to let that dry and see what happens.

  • Come on, take these off as well and I'll put them in to dry with the rest.

  • So I'm just going to let it dry for two hours.

  • And while I'm waiting for it to dry, let's make bath bombs.

  • Now, when this dries, it will dry with dirt spots.

  • "When the market for Westerns dried up, I turned to crime novels."

    Academic text (2011)
  • After about 2,000 feet, the trail dries and the land gradually rises.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Homerin waited patiently for me to dry my eyes and blow my nose.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

to dry up
vsto dry
109 2.7

To lose all water or moisture so it has none left

means losing or removing moisture in general, not only complete loss
to dry out
vsto dry
55 2.4

To become dry or make something no longer wet

is the general term for losing or removing moisture
to dehydrate
vsto dry
8 4.1

To lose too much water and become very dry

refers broadly to losing or removing moisture in any context
to desiccate
vsto dry
  • Specialized
2 9.0

To dry something so it does not go bad

covers losing or removing moisture for many purposes, not only preservation
to parch
vsto dry
1 7.0

Make something very dry from heat or sun

is broader, meaning to lose or remove moisture by various causes
to freeze-dry
vsto dry
  • Specialized
1 4.4

To keep food for a long time by freezing it and then removing its water

is the general process of losing or removing moisture without naming the method
to spray-dry
vsto dry
  • Specialized
1 7.5

To dry a liquid by making a fine spray that becomes powder when hot air hits it

is broader, meaning to remove moisture without specifying technical method
to exsiccate
vsto dry
  • Specialized
9.9

To remove all water from something so it stays dry

is the general act of losing or removing moisture, not necessarily complete

Antonyms

27 1.0

To make something wet by covering it with liquid

15 3.0

To make something a little wet

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

Phrasal Verbs

109 2.7

To lose all water or moisture so it has none left

55 2.4

To become dry or make something no longer wet

19 4.2

To use up something so none is left, for example ideas

to bleed dry
  • Informal
16 7.3

Use up all a person's money or other resources

15 2.8

To dry hair with a hair dryer to style it

12 3.3

To clean clothes using chemicals instead of water

2 3.7

To stop having any water, like a river or well

2 8.2

To disappear completely because of neglect or bad weather

To use a machine that turns clothes with hot air to remove water

to dry brush
  • Specialized
1 4.9

To use very little paint to make a rough, scratchy texture on a surface

1 3.5

To hang clothes up so they dry without using heat

1 3.1

Remove water from clothes by spinning them fast in a machine

1 7.7

Hang wet clothes without smoothing or ironing, leaving them a little wrinkled

to spray-dry
  • Specialized
1 7.5

To dry a liquid by making a fine spray that becomes powder when hot air hits it

4.2

Stop crying and feel calm again

To seem a little boring and not exciting

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

How Dry

to desiccate
  • Specialized
2 9.0
to dehydrate
8 4.1
to dry
344 1.0
to moisten
15 3.0

Surface Forms

dry infinitive
dried past
dried past participle
drying present participle
dries third person singular

Etymology

Dry as a verb comes from the same old English root drig meaning 'not wet'. To dry something is to remove its water so it becomes 'not wet'.