Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Dry

Dry

(drī)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Drier
;
sup
erl.
Driest
.]
[OE.
druȝe
,
druye
,
drie
, AS.
dryge
; akin to LG.
dröge
, D.
droog
, OHG.
trucchan
, G.
trocken
, Icel.
draugr
a dry log. Cf.
Drought
,
Drouth
, 3d
Drug
.]
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
.]
[AS.
drygan
; cf.
drugian
to grow dry. See
Dry
,
Adj.
]
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
rapidly
.
2.
To evaporate wholly; to be exhaled; – said of moisture, or a liquid; – sometimes with
up
;
as, the stream
dries
, or
dries
up
.
3.
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.
[See the Verb.]
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.
[G., to dry, to wipe; Gr., L. See Dry. The primary sense is to wipe, rub, scour.]
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.

Definition 2024

dry

dry

See also: DRY

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

dry ‎(comparative drier or dryer, superlative driest or dryest)

  1. Free from or lacking moisture.
    This towel's dry. Could you wet it and cover the chicken so it doesn't go dry as it cooks?‎
    • Addison
      The weather, we agreed, was too dry for the season.
    • Prescott
      Not a dry eye was to be seen in the assembly.
  2. Unable to produce a liquid, as water, (Petrochemistry) oil, or (farming) milk.
    This well is as dry as that cow.‎
  3. (masonry) Built without or lacking mortar.
    • 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, p. 241:
      ...already the gate was blocked with a wall of squared stones laid dry, but very thick and very high, across the opening.
  4. (chemistry) Anhydrous: free from or lacking water in any state, regardless of the presence of other liquids.
    Dry alcohol is 200 proof.‎
  5. Free from or lacking alcohol or alcoholic beverages.
    Of course it's a dry house. He was an alcoholic but he's been dry for almost a year now.‎
  6. (law) Describing an area where sales of alcoholic or strong alcoholic beverages are banned.
    You'll have to drive out of this dry county to find any liquor.‎
  7. Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness, particularly:
    • Alexander Pope
      These epistles will become less dry, more susceptible of ornament.
    1. (wine and other alcoholic beverages) Low in sugar; lacking sugar; unsweetened.
      Proper martinis are made with London dry gin and dry vermouth.‎
    2. (humor) Amusing without being amused.
      Steven Wright has a deadpan delivery, Norm Macdonald has a dry sense of humor, and Oscar Wilde had a dry wit.‎
    3. Lacking interest, boring.
      A dry lecture may require the professor to bring a watergun in order to keep the students' attention.‎
    4. (fine arts) Exhibiting precise execution lacking delicate contours or soft transitions of color.
  8. (sciences, somewhat pejorative) Involving computations rather than work with biological or chemical matter.
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • (free from liquid or moisture): wet, moist
  • (abstinent from alcohol): wet
  • (of a scientist or lab: doing computation): wet
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

dry ‎(plural drys or dries)

  1. (US) A prohibitionist (of alcoholic beverages).
    • Noah S. Sweat, Jr.
      The drys were as unhappy with the second part of the speech as the wets were with the first half.
  2. (chiefly Australia, with "the") The dry season.
    • 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1943, Chapter VII, page 91,
      […] one was sodden to the bone and mildewed to the marrow and moved to pray […] for that which formerly he had cursed—the Dry! the good old Dry—when the grasses yellowed, browned, dried to tinder, burst into spontaneous flame— […]
  3. (Australia) An area of waterless country.

Etymology 2

From Old English dryġan ‎(“to dry”), from dryġe ‎(“dry”)

Verb

dry ‎(third-person singular simple present dries, present participle drying, simple past and past participle dried)

  1. (intransitive) To lose moisture.
    The clothes dried on the line.
  2. (transitive) To remove moisture from.
    Devin dried her eyes with a handkerchief.
  3. (obsolete, intransitive) To be thirsty.
    • c. 1390, William Langland, Piers Plowman, I:
      And drynke whan þow dryest · ac do nouȝt out of resoun.
Conjugation
Derived terms

See also

Translations

Albanian

Alternative forms

  • dryn

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *drūna, from the same root as dru. Cognate to Sanskrit द्रुणा ‎(druṇa, “bow”), Iranian *drũna, Persian durũna ‎(“rainbow”)[1].

Noun

dry m (indefinite plural dryna, definite singular dryni, definite plural drynat)

  1. kind of lock, bolt

Related terms

References

  1. ↑ Orel, Vladimir (1998), “dry”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, page 77

Old English

Pronunciation

Etymology

Borrowed from a Brythonic language, representing Proto-Brythonic *drɨw, from Proto-Celtic *druwits ‎(“druid”).

Noun

drȳ m

  1. a sorcerer or magician
    Hi woldon forbærnan ðone dry. —Ælfric’s Homilies, volume 1. (‘They would burn the sorceror.’)

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Middle English: drigmann/drigmenn ‎(plural)

Etymology

From Middle English drye, drie, dri, drige, dryge, drüȝe, Old English drȳġe ‎(“dry; parched, withered”), from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz, *draugiz ‎(“dry, hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- ‎(“to strengthen; become hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ‎(“to hold, support”). Cognate with Scots dry, drey ‎(“dry”), North Frisian drüg, driig, Saterland Frisian druuch ‎(“dry”), West Frisian droech ‎(“dry”), Dutch droog ‎(“dry”), Low German dröög ‎(“dry”), German dröge ‎(“dull”), Icelandic draugur ‎(“a dry log”). Related also to German trocken ‎(“dry”), West Frisian drege ‎(“long-lasting”), Danish drøj ‎(“tough”), Swedish dryg ‎(“lasting, hard”), Icelandic drjúgur ‎(“ample, long”), Latin firmus ‎(“strong, firm, stable, durable”). See also drought, drain, dree.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: drī, IPA(key): /dɹaɪ/
  • Rhymes: -aɪ
  • IPA(key): /dryː/

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