Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Dry
Dry
(drī)
, Adj.
[
Com
par.
Drier
; sup
erl.
Driest
.] 1.
Free from moisture; having little humidity or none; arid; not wet or moist; deficient in the natural or normal supply of moisture, as rain or fluid of any kind; – said especially:
(a)
Of the weather: Free from rain or mist. (b)
Of vegetable matter: Free from juices or sap; not succulent; not green;
as,
. dry
wood or hay(c)
Of animals: Not giving milk;
as, the cow is
. dry
(d)
Of persons: Thirsty; needing drink.
(e)
Of the eyes: Not shedding tears.
(f)
(Med.)
Of certain morbid conditions, in which there is entire or comparative absence of moisture; as, dry gangrene; dry catarrh.
2.
Destitute of that which interests or amuses; barren; unembellished; jejune; plain.
These epistles will become less
dry
, more susceptible of ornament. Pope.
3.
Characterized by a quality somewhat severe, grave, or hard; hence, sharp; keen; shrewd; quaint;
as, a
dry
tone or manner; dry
wit.He was rather a
dry
, shrewd kind of body. W. Irving.
4.
(Fine Arts)
Exhibiting a sharp, frigid preciseness of execution, or the want of a delicate contour in form, and of easy transition in coloring.
Dry area
(Arch.)
, a small open space reserved outside the foundation of a building to guard it from damp.
– Dry blow
. (a)
(Med.)
A blow which inflicts no wound, and causes no effusion of blood.
(b)
A quick, sharp blow.
– Dry bone
(Min.)
, Smithsonite, or carbonate of zinc; – a miner’s term.
– Dry castor
(Zool.)
a kind of beaver; – called also
– parchment beaver
. Dry cupping
. (Med.)
See under
– Cupping
. Dry dock
. See under
– Dock
. Dry fat
. See
– Dry vat
(below). Dry light
, pure unobstructed light; hence, a clear, impartial view.
Bacon.
Dry masonry
. See
– Masonry
. Dry measure
, a system of measures of volume for dry or coarse articles, by the bushel, peck, etc.
– Dry pile
(Physics)
, a form of the Voltaic pile, constructed without the use of a liquid, affording a feeble current, and chiefly useful in the construction of electroscopes of great delicacy; – called also
– Zamboni's
, from the names of the two earliest constructors of it. Dry pipe
(Steam Engine)
, a pipe which conducts dry steam from a boiler.
– Dry plate
(Photog.)
, a glass plate having a dry coating sensitive to light, upon which photographic negatives or pictures can be made, without moistening.
– Dry-plate process
, the process of photographing with dry plates.
– Dry point
. (Fine Arts)
(a)
An engraving made with the needle instead of the burin, in which the work is done nearly as in etching, but is finished without the use acid
. (b)
A print from such an engraving, usually upon paper.
(c)
Hence: The needle with which such an engraving is made.
– Dry rent
(Eng. Law)
, a rent reserved by deed, without a clause of distress.
Bouvier.
– Dry rot
, a decay of timber, reducing its fibers to the condition of a dry powdery dust, often accompanied by the presence of a peculiar fungus (
Merulius lacrymans
), which is sometimes considered the cause of the decay; but it is more probable that the real cause is the decomposition of the wood itself. D. C. Eaton.
Called also sap rot
, and, in the United States, powder post
. Hebert.
– Dry stove
, a hothouse adapted to preserving the plants of arid climates.
Brande & C.
– Dry vat
, a vat, basket, or other receptacle for dry articles.
– Dry wine
, that in which the saccharine matter and fermentation were so exactly balanced, that they have wholly neutralized each other, and no sweetness is perceptible; – opposed to
sweet wine
, in which the saccharine matter is in excess. Dry
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Dried
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Drying
.] To make dry; to free from water, or from moisture of any kind, and by any means; to exsiccate;
as, to
dry
the eyes; to dry
one's tears; the wind dries
the earth; to dry
a wet cloth; to dry
hay.To dry up
. (a)
To scorch or parch with thirst; to deprive utterly of water; to consume.
Their honorable men are famished, and their multitude
dried up
with thirst. Is. v. 13.
(b)
To make to cease, as a stream of talk.
– To dry a cow
, or To dry up a cow
to cause a cow to cease secreting milk.
Tylor.
Dry
,Verb.
I.
1.
To grow dry; to become free from wetness, moisture, or juice;
as, the road
. dries
rapidly2.
To evaporate wholly; to be exhaled; – said of moisture, or a liquid; – sometimes with
up
; as, the stream
. dries
, or dries
up3.
To shrivel or wither; to lose vitality.
And his hand, which he put forth against him,
dried
up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. I Kings xiii. 4.
Webster 1828 Edition
Dry
DRY
,Adj.
1.
Destitute of moisture; free from water or wetness; arid; not moist; as dry land; dry clothes.2.
Not rainy; free from rain or mist; as dry weather; a dry March or April.3.
Not juicy; free from juice, sap or aqueous matter; not green; as dry wood; dry stubble; dry hay; dry leaves.4.
Without tears; as dry eyes; dry mourning.5.
Not giving milk; as, the cow is dry.6.
Thirsty; craving drink.7.
Barren; jejune; plain; unembellished; destitute of pathos, or of that which amuses and interests; as a dry style; a dry subject; a dry discussion.8.
Severe; sarcastic; wiping; as a dry remark or repartee; a dry run.9.
Severe; wiping; as a dry blow; a dry basting. See the verb, which signifies properly to wipe, rub, scour.10.
Dry goods, in commerce, cloths, stuffs, silks, laces, ribbons, &c., in distinction from groceries.DRY
,Verb.
T.
1.
To free from water, or from moisture of any kind, and by any means; originally by wiping, as to dry the eyes; to exsiccate.2.
To deprive of moisture by evaporation or exhalation; as, the sun dries a cloth; wind dries the earth.3.
To deprive of moisture by exposure to the sun or open air. We dry cloth in the sun.4.
To deprive of natural juice, sap or greenness; as, to dry hay or plants.5.
To scorch or parch with thirst; with up.Their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Isaiah 5.
6.
To deprive of water by draining; to drain; to exhaust; as, to dry a meadow. To dry up, to deprive wholly of water.
DRY
,Verb.
I.
1.
To grow dry; to lose moisture; to become free from moisture or juice. The road dries fast in a clear windy day. Hay will dry sufficiently in two days.2.
To evaporate wholly; to be exhaled; sometimes with up; as, the stream dries or dries up.