Definition of DRY

dry

Meanings

Plural: dried, dries, dry, drys

Noun

  • a reformer who opposes the use of intoxicating beverages
  • The process by which something is dried.
  • A prohibitionist (of alcoholic beverages).
  • An area with little or no rain, or sheltered from it.
  • The dry season.
  • An area of waterless country.
  • Unsweetened ginger ale; dry ginger.
  • A radical or hard-line Conservative; especially, one who supported the policies of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

Verb

  • remove the moisture from and make dry
    • "dry clothes"
    • "dry hair"
  • become dry or drier
    • "The laundry dries in the sun"
  • To lose moisture.
  • To remove moisture from.
  • To exhaust; to cause to run dry.
  • For an actor to forget their lines while performing.

Adjective

  • free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet
    • "dry land"
    • "dry clothes"
    • "a dry climate"
    • "dry splintery boards"
    • "a dry river bed"
    • "the paint is dry"
  • lacking moisture or volatile components
    • "dry paint"
  • opposed to or prohibiting the production and sale of alcoholic beverages
    • "the dry vote led by preachers and bootleggers"
    • "a dry state"
  • not producing milk
    • "a dry cow"
  • (of liquor) having a low residual sugar content because of decomposition of sugar during fermentation
    • "a dry white burgundy"
    • "a dry Bordeaux"
  • without a mucous or watery discharge
    • "a dry cough"
    • "that rare thing in the wintertime; a small child with a dry nose"

Adjective Satellite

  • humorously sarcastic or mocking
    • "dry humor"
  • not shedding tears
    • "dry sobs"
    • "with dry eyes"
  • lacking interest or stimulation; dull and lifeless; ; ; - John Mason Brown
    • "a dry book"
    • "a dry lecture filled with trivial details"
  • used of solid substances in contrast with liquid ones
    • "dry weight"
  • unproductive especially of the expected results
    • "a dry run"
    • "a mind dry of new ideas"
  • having no adornment or coloration
    • "dry facts"
    • "rattled off the facts in a dry mechanical manner"
  • (of food) eaten without a spread or sauce or other garnish
    • "dry toast"
    • "dry meat"
  • having a large proportion of strong liquor
    • "a very dry martini is almost straight gin"
  • lacking warmth or emotional involvement
    • "a dry greeting"
    • "a dry reading of the lines"
    • "a dry critique"
  • practicing complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages
    • "he's been dry for ten years"

Adj

  • Free from or lacking moisture.
  • Unable to produce a liquid, as water, (petrochemistry) oil, or (agriculture) milk.
  • Built without or lacking mortar.
  • Anhydrous: free from or lacking water in any state, regardless of the presence of other liquids.
  • Athirst, eager.
  • Free from or lacking alcohol or alcoholic beverages.
  • Describing an area where sales of alcoholic or strong alcoholic beverages are banned.
  • Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  • Low in sugar; lacking sugar; unsweetened.
  • Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  • Amusing without showing amusement.
  • Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  • Lacking interest, boring.
  • Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  • Of a board or flop: Not permitting the creation of many or of strong hands.
  • Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  • Exhibiting precise execution lacking delicate contours or soft transitions of color.
  • Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness, particularly
  • Not using afterburners or water injection for increased thrust.
  • Involving computations rather than work with biological or chemical matter.
  • Free from applied audio effects (especially reverb).
  • Without a usual complement or consummation; impotent.
  • Without a usual complement or consummation; impotent.
  • Of a bite from an animal: not containing the usual venom.
  • Of a mass, service, or rite: involving neither consecration nor communion.
  • Mixed with sauce and not served in a soup.

Origin / Etymology

Adjective and noun from Middle English drye, dryge, drüȝe, from Old English drȳġe (“dry; parched, withered”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgī, *draugī, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz, *draugiz (“dry, hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to strengthen; become hard”), from *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). The verb derives from Middle English drien, from Old English drȳġan (“to dry”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgijan, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz (“hard, desiccated, dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“strong, hard, solid”).
cognates and related terms
Cognate with Scots dry, drey (“dry”), North Frisian drüg, driig, Saterland Frisian druuch (“dry”), West Frisian droech (“dry”), Dutch droog (“dry”), Low German dröög (“dry”), German dröge (“dull”), Icelandic draugur (“a dry log”). Related also to German trocken (“dry”), West Frisian drege (“long-lasting”), Danish drøj (“tough”), Swedish dryg (“lasting, hard”), Icelandic drjúgur (“ample, long”), Latin firmus (“strong, firm, stable, durable”). See also drought, drain, dree.

Antonyms

phlegmy, sweet, wet

Scrabble Score: 7

dry is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
dry is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
dry is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 6

dry is a valid Words With Friends word