adjective | verb
drydry1 /draɪ/ ●●● S2 W2 adjective (comparative drier, superlative driest) 1
NOT WET having no water or liquid inside or on the surface OPP wet: Are the clothes dry yet? Store disks in a dry place. Wait until the paint is completely dry.wipe/shake/rub etc. something dry Pat the lettuce dry with a paper towel. The ground was as dry as a bone (=very dry).2WEATHER having very little rain or moisture: The weather tomorrow will be sunny and dry. a dry winter The recent dry spell has led to water shortages.3MOUTH, SKIN, LIPS ETC. not having enough of the normal liquid or moisture that is usually in your mouth, skin, etc.: His mouth was dry, and he swallowed nervously. a shampoo for dry hair4FOOD dry food does not have much liquid such as fat or juice in it OPP moist: The chicken was dry and tough.5HUMOR someone with a dry sense of humor sounds serious when he or she is really joking: We all enjoy Mike’s dry wit. She has a very dry sense of humor and sometimes no one realizes she’s joking. → see also dryly6BORING someone or something such as a movie or book that is dry is boring and too serious: a dry and uninteresting subject7run/go dry if a lake, river, etc. runs dry, all the water gradually disappears, especially because there has been no rain: The reservoir ran dry during the drought.8dry land land rather than water: After three weeks at sea we were glad to be back on dry land again.9dry wine/sherry etc. wine, sherry, etc. that is not sweet: I prefer a dry white wine with fish dishes.10a dry cough a cough that does not produce any phlegm11dry toast toasted bread that does not have butter or jam on it12not a dry eye in the house used to say that everyone was crying because something was very sad: There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after Marvin finished his speech.13the dry heaves the action of continuing to vomit even though nothing comes out through your mouth anymore14NO ALCOHOL not allowing any alcohol to be sold there: Conway is in a dry county.15THIRSTY old-fashioned informal thirsty[Origin: Old English dryge]—dryness noun [uncountable] → see also drip-dry adjective | verb
drydry2 ●●● S2 W3 verb (dries, dried, drying) [intransitive, transitive] 1to become dry, or to make something dry: Let the glue dry for at least an hour. It’ll only take a few minutes to dry my hair.2to rub plates, dishes, etc. with a cloth until they are dry after you have washed them: You wash and I’ll dry. → see also drieddry off phrasal verb dry (somebody/something ↔) off to become dry, or to make something dry, especially on the surface: The best time to moisturize the skin is after you shower and dry off. He dried his bicycle seat off with a towel.dry out phrasal verb1dry (something ↔) out to become completely dry or make something completely dry after it has been very wet: Farmers now have to wait for fields to dry out. Hang your towel over the chair to dry it out.2dry (somebody) out to stop drinking alcohol after you have become an alcoholic, or to help someone do this: Miller spent a month drying out at the Betty Ford Center.dry up phrasal verb1dry (something ↔) up if something dries up or is dried up, it stops having liquid in it or on it: The river dried up completely that summer.2 if supplies or money dry up, they come to an end and there is no more available: After a few months the work dried up.