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Drying

 - 6 dictionary results

dry⋅ing

[drahy-ing]
–adjective
1. causing dryness: a drying breeze.
2. designed to become or capable of becoming dry and hard on exposure to air.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME; see dry, -ing 2

dry

[drahy] adjective, dri⋅er, dri⋅est, verb, dried, dry⋅ing, noun, plural drys, dries.
–adjective
1. free from moisture or excess moisture; not moist; not wet: a dry towel; dry air.
2. having or characterized by little or no rain: a dry climate; the dry season.
3. characterized by absence, deficiency, or failure of natural or ordinary moisture.
4. not under, in, or on water: It was good to be on dry land.
5. not now containing or yielding water or other liquid; depleted or empty of liquid: The well is dry.
6. not yielding milk: a dry cow.
7. free from tears: dry eyes.
8. drained or evaporated away: a dry river.
9. desiring drink; thirsty: He was so dry he could hardly speak.
10. causing thirst: dry work.
11. served or eaten without butter, jam, etc.: dry toast.
12. (of cooked food) lacking enough moisture or juice to be satisfying or succulent.
13. (of bread and bakery products) stale.
14. of or pertaining to nonliquid substances or commodities: dry measure; dry provisions.
15. (of wines) not sweet.
16. (of a cocktail)
a. made with dry vermouth: a dry Manhattan.
b. made with relatively little dry vermouth: a dry martini.
17. characterized by or favoring prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors for use in beverages: a dry state.
18. (of British biscuits) not sweet.
19. plain; bald; unadorned: dry facts.
20. dull; uninteresting: a dry subject.
21. expressed in a straight-faced, matter-of-fact way: dry humor.
22. indifferent; cold; unemotional: a dry answer.
23. unproductive: The greatest of artists have dry years.
24. (of lumber) fully seasoned.
25. Building Trades.
a. (of masonry construction) built without fresh mortar or cement.
b. (of a wall, ceiling, etc., in an interior) finished without the use of fresh plaster.
26. Ceramics.
a. unglazed.
b. insufficiently glazed.
27. Art. hard and formal in outline, or lacking mellowness and warmth in color.
–verb (used with object)
28. to make dry; free from moisture: to dry the dishes.
–verb (used without object)
29. to become dry; lose moisture.
–noun
30. a prohibitionist.
31. a dry place, area, or region.
32. dry out,
a. to make or become completely dry.
b. to undergo or cause to undergo detoxification from consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol.
33. dry up,
a. to make or become completely dry.
b. to cease to exist; evaporate.
c. Informal. to stop talking.
d. (in acting) to forget one's lines or part.
34. not dry behind the ears, immature; unsophisticated: Adult responsibilities were forced on him, although he was still not dry behind the ears.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME drie, OE drȳge; akin to D droog, G trocken; see drought


dry⋅a⋅ble, adjective
dryly, adverb
dryness, noun


1. Dry, arid both mean without moisture. Dry is the general word indicating absence of water or freedom from moisture: a dry well; dry clothes. Arid suggests great or intense dryness in a region or climate, esp. such as results in bareness or in barrenness: arid tracts of desert. 20. tedious, barren, boring, tiresome, jejune. 28. See evaporate. 29. dehydrate.


1. wet. 20. interesting.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Drying
dry   (drī)   
adj.   dri·er (drī'ər) or dry·er, dri·est (drī'ĭst) or dry·est
  1. Free from liquid or moisture: changed to dry clothes.

  2. Having or characterized by little or no rain: a dry climate.

  3. Marked by the absence of natural or normal moisture: a dry month.

  4. Not under water: dry land.

  5. Having all the water or liquid drained away, evaporated, or exhausted: a dry river.

  6. No longer yielding liquid, especially milk: a dry cow.

  7. Lacking a mucous or watery discharge: a dry cough.

  8. Not shedding tears: dry sobs.

  9. Needing or desiring drink; thirsty: a dry mouth.

  10. No longer wet: The paint is dry.

  11. Of or relating to solid rather than liquid substances or commodities: dry weight.

  12. Not sweet as a result of the decomposition of sugar during fermentation. Used of wines.

  13. Having a large proportion of strong liquor to other ingredients: a dry martini.

  14. Eaten or served without butter, gravy, or other garnish: dry toast; dry meat.

  15. Having no adornment or coloration; plain: the dry facts.

  16. Devoid of bias or personal concern: presented a dry critique.

    1. Lacking tenderness, warmth, or involvement; severe: The actor gave a dry reading of the lines.

    2. Matter-of-fact or indifferent in manner: rattled off the facts in a dry mechanical tone.

  17. Wearisome; dull: a dry lecture filled with trivial details.

  18. Humorous or sarcastic in a shrewd, impersonal way: dry wit.

  19. Prohibiting or opposed to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages: a dry county.

  20. Unproductive of the expected results: a mind dry of new ideas.

  21. Constructed without mortar or cement: dry masonry.

v.   dried (drīd), dry·ing, dries (drīz)

v.   tr.
  1. To remove the moisture from; make dry: laundry dried by the sun.

  2. To preserve (meat or other foods, for example) by extracting the moisture.

v.   intr.
To become dry: The sheets dried quickly in the sun.
n.   pl. drys Informal
A prohibitionist.
Phrasal Verb(s):
dry out Informal To undergo a cure for alcoholism.
dry up
  1. To make or become unproductive, especially to do so gradually.

  2. Informal To stop talking.


[Middle English drie, from Old English drȳge.]
dry'ly, dri'ly adv., dry'ness n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to remove the moisture from: drying the dishes; added water to eggs that were dehydrated; a factory where coconut meat is shredded and desiccated; land parched by the sun. See Also Synonyms at sour.
Antonym: moisten
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
dry

  1. mod.
    sober; no longer alcohol intoxicated. : How long will Ernie stay dry, do you think?
  2. n.
    a prohibitionist; an abstainer from alcohol. : The drys are in an increasing majority.
  3. mod.
    having to do with a region where alcoholic beverages cannot be purchased. (Compare this with wet.) : Some small towns are dry, but not many.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

dry 
O.E. dryge (adj.), drygan (v.), from P.Gmc. *draugiz. Of humor, 1542; of places prohibiting alcoholic drink, 1870 (but dry feast, one at which no liquor is served, is from 1483). Of the two n. spellings, drier is the older (1528), while dryer (1874) was first used of machines. Dry goods (1708) were those measured out in dry, not liquid, measure. Dry land (that not under the sea) is from c.1225. Dry out in the drug addiction sense is from 1967. Dry up "stop talking" is 1853.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2dry
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: dried; dry·ing
transitive senses
: to make dry dry intransitivesenses
: to become dry
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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