dry

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dry / drī/ • adj. (dri·er , dri·est ) 1. free from moisture or liquid; not wet or moist: the jacket kept me warm and dry | he wiped it dry with his shirt. ∎  having lost all wetness or moisture over a period of time: dry paint. ∎  for use without liquid: the conversion of dry latrines into flush toilets. ∎  with little or no rainfall or humidity: the West Coast has had two dry winters in a row. ∎  (of a river, lake, or stream) empty of water as a result of evaporation and lack of rainfall: the river is always dry at this time of year. ∎  (of a source) not yielding a supply of water or oil: a dry well. ∎  thirsty or thirst-making: working in the hot sun is making me dry | dry work. ∎  (of a cow or other domestic animal) having stopped producing milk. ∎  without grease or other moisturizer or lubricator: cream conditioners for dry hair | his throat was dry and sore. ∎  (of bread or toast) without butter or other spreads: only dry bread and water. 2. fig. bare or lacking adornment: the dry facts. ∎  unexciting; dull: by current tastes the text is dry. ∎  unemotional, undemonstrative, or impassive: Ralph gave me a dry, silent wave. ∎  (of a joke or sense of humor) subtle, expressed in a matter-of-fact way, and having the appearance of being unconscious or unintentional: he delighted his friends with a dry, covert sense of humor. 3. prohibiting the sale or consumption of alcoholic drink: the country is strictly dry, in accordance with Islamic law. ∎  (of a person) no longer addicted to or drinking alcohol: I heard much talk about how sobriety was more than staying straight or dry. 4. (of an alcoholic drink) not sweet: a dry, medium-bodied red wine. • v. (dries, dried) [intr.] 1. become dry: waiting for the paint to dry | come in out of the rain and dry off | do not let the soil dry out | pools are left as the rivers dry up. ∎  [tr.] cause to become dry: they had washed and dried their hair. ∎  [tr.] wipe tears from (the eyes): she dried her eyes and blew her nose. ∎  wipe dishes dry with a cloth after they have been washed. ∎  [tr.] [usu. as adj.] (dried) preserve by allowing or encouraging evaporation of moisture from: dried flowers. 2. theatrical slang forget one's lines: a colleague of mine once dried in the middle of a scene. • n. (pl. dries or drys ) a person in favor of the prohibition of alcohol. PHRASES: come up dry be unsuccessful: experiments have so far come up dry. (as) dry as a bone extremely dry. (as) dry as dust extremely dry. ∎  extremely dull; lacking emotion, expression, or interest: what the students learned was as dry as dust. there wasn't a dry eye (in the house) (with reference to a play, film, or similar event) everyone in the audience was moved to tears.PHRASAL VERBS: dry out inf. (of an alcoholic) abstain from alcoholic drink, esp. as part of a detoxification program: he intends to dry out and get his life back together again. dry up 1. inf. cease talking: then he dried up, and Phil couldn't get another word out of him. 2. (of something perceived as a continuous flow or source) decrease and stop: his commissions began to dry up. DERIVATIVES: dry·ish adj. dry·ness n.

dry adj. OE. drȳġe :- *drūʒiz, rel. to (M)LG. dröge, dreuge, MDu. drōghe (Du. droog) :- *drauʒiz, f. Gmc. *drauʒ- *dreuʒ- *drū́ʒ-; cf. DROUGHT.
Hence dry vb. OE. drȳġan.

dry •ally, Altai, apply, assai, awry, ay, aye, Baha'i, belie, bi, Bligh, buy, by, bye, bye-bye, chi, Chiangmai, Ciskei, comply, cry, Cy, Dai, defy, deny, Di, die, do-or-die, dry, Dubai, dye, espy, eye, fie, fly, forbye, fry, Frye, goodbye (US goodby), guy, hereby, hi, hie, high, I, imply, I-spy, July, kai, lie, lye, Mackay, misapply, my, nearby, nigh, Nye, outfly, passer-by, phi, pi, pie, ply, pry, psi, Qinghai, rai, rely, rocaille, rye, scry, serai, shanghai, shy, sigh, sky, Skye, sky-high, sly, spin-dry, spry, spy, sty, Sukhotai, supply, Tai, Thai, thereby, thigh, thy, tie, Transkei, try, tumble-dry, underlie, Versailles, Vi, vie, whereby, why, wry, Wye, xi, Xingtai, Yantai