Skip to main content
dryer

dryer

161 1.0
A machine that removes water from clothes by blowing warm air
  • noun
  • /ˈdraɪər/
translation icon : secadora
  • For one, we have a washer and dryer, like every New Yorker's dream.
  • clothes dryer
  • washer and dryer
  • dryer sheet

It's like washers and dryers, petroleum trash.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Here's the bathroom, washer, dryer, full closet, and cute little bedroom.

  • I put my wet clothes in the dryer to remove the moisture quickly.

  • In the bedroom, my wife turned on the hair dryer for the third time.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Some kind soul had taken it from the dryer and left it on the floor.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I'll go and get the hair dryer before you catch your death of cold.

  • Excuse me, Detective, but the dryer was not working.

  • I'll put them in the dryer.

  • Their swimsuits are in the dryer.

  • It's my industrial-strength hair dryer.

  • The washer buzzes, he switches the clothes from washer to dryer, and starts the machine.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

clothes dryer
vsdryer
  • US
2 1.2

A machine that removes water from wet clothes using warm air

is used for clothes and other items, not only washed garments
tumble drier
vsdryer
  • UK
1 2.6

A machine that dries wet clothes by spinning them in warm air

covers drying of many items not limited to drum tumbling
spin dryer
vsdryer
  • US
1 3.2

A machine that dries clothes by spinning them to remove water

dries using heated air rather than only spinning to expel water
clothes drier
vsdryer
  • UK
2.0

A machine that uses warm air to dry wet clothes

is the general appliance for removing moisture from many items
tumble-dryer
vsdryer
  • UK
2.6

A machine that spins wet clothes with hot air to remove water

uses heated air but not always drum tumbling for all items

Antonyms

10 4.0

A machine that adds water to the air to make it less dry

Compounds

21 1.2

A small electric device that blows warm air to dry and style hair

11 2.7

A small handheld electric device that blows warm air to dry and style hair

2 1.2

A machine that removes water from wet clothes using warm air

1 3.2

A machine that dries clothes by spinning them to remove water

freeze-dryer
  • Specialized
6.2

A machine that keeps food or lab samples from spoiling by freezing and removing their water

refrigeration dryer
  • Specialized
5.5

A machine that cools compressed air to make moisture turn into liquid and be removed

refrigerant dryer
  • Specialized
6.6

A machine that removes water from compressed air by cooling it

2.6

A machine that spins wet clothes with hot air to remove water

How Fast

spin dryer
  • US
1 3.2
dryer
161 1.0
clothesline
18 1.6

Surface Forms

dryer singular
dryers plural

Morphology

dryer = dry (transparent) = dry + er

The noun is a regular formation from the verb 'dry' with the agent/instrument suffix '-er', referring to a device or person that dries.

Etymology

The word dryer comes from the simple English word dry plus the ending -er, which means 'one that does'. So a dryer is something that 'makes dry', which explains why we use it to remove water from clothes.