desiccate
to dry thoroughly; dry up.
to preserve (food) by removing moisture; dehydrate.
to become thoroughly dried or dried up.
Origin of desiccate
1Other words from desiccate
- des·ic·ca·tion, noun
- des·ic·ca·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use desiccate in a sentence
I must find some desiccating process; it would never do to dance in a fog from the wet plaster.
Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau | Honore de BalzacDesiccating—air-and water-ovens, and other appliances for drying natural and artificial products.
Wrinkles in Electric Lighting | Vincent StephenA deliquescent body serves as a good drying or desiccating agent.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry | William McPhersonThere was only the molten downpour of sun by day, and the desiccating numbness of cold at night.
Walls of Acid | Henry HasseThis material is stated to act as a desiccating as well as a purifying agent.
Acetylene, The Principles Of Its Generation And Use | F. H. Leeds
British Dictionary definitions for desiccate
/ (ˈdɛsɪˌkeɪt) /
(tr) to remove most of the water from (a substance or material); dehydrate
(tr) to preserve (food) by removing moisture; dry
(intr) to become dried up
Origin of desiccate
1Derived forms of desiccate
- desiccation, noun
- desiccative, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for desiccate
[ dĕs′ĭ-kāt′ ]
To remove the moisture from something or dry it thoroughly.♦ A desiccator is a container that removes moisture from the air within it.♦ A desiccator contains a desiccant, a substance that traps or absorbs water molecules. Some desiccants include silica gel (silicon dioxide), calcium sulfate (dehydrated gypsum), calcium oxide (calcined lime), synthetic molecular sieves (porous crystalline aluminosilicates), and dried clay.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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