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Glite Dictionary
air-dry

air-dry

4.1
Dry enough that it does not give off water when left in the air
  • adjective
  • /ˈɛrˌdraɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : de secado al aire
  • Instead of using a dryer, she chose to air-dry her clothes outside in the fresh air.
  • let it air-dry

Examples

  • To preserve the fabric's quality, it's best to air-dry the newly washed canvas.

  • So this one when I use it and I let my hair air dry, it looks really nice.

  • OK, I always air dry my hair because my extensions just take too long to dry.

  • I usually let it air dry and I'm going to show you what I do when I let it air dry.

  • I prefer to let it air dry whenever possible and I finish with an oil spray.

  • One thing you can do, you can skip the hair dryer and you can just air dry your hair.

  • All surfaces were left to air-dry for 1 hour at room temperature (Moore & Griffith).

    Academic text (2005)

  • After washing my hair, I prefer to let it air-dry naturally for the best results.

Synonyms

nondrying
vsair-dry
5.4

Does not become dry when left in the air, like some paints or lotions

maintains stable moisture content under normal air conditions
undampened
vsair-dry
5.2

Dry and not made wet by water

focuses on keeping moisture steady rather than merely avoiding getting wet

Antonyms

moist
105 1.0

Slightly wet in a pleasant or suitable way

How Dry

bone-dry
1 3.4
air-dry
  • Specialized
4.1
dry
791 1.0
moist
105 1.0
damp
113 1.0
wet
800 1.0

Surface Forms

air-dry positive
air-drier comparative
air-driest superlative

Morphology

air-dry = air + dry (transparent) = air + dry

The meaning is directly built from 'air' + 'dry' (dried by or dry in air), so learners who know the components can infer the sense.

Etymology

Air-dry combines the parts air and dry, which together mean 'dry by the air'. So, something that is air-dry becomes dry just by sitting in the open air rather than by heating or baking.