dry up

dry  (dr)

adj. dri·er (drr) or dry·er, dri·est (drst) 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.

17.

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

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

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

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

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

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

22. Constructed without mortar or cement: dry masonry.

v. dried (drd), dry·ing, dries (drz)

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 Verbs:

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.

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[Middle English drie, from Old English drge.]

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dryly, drily adv.

dryness n.

Synonyms: dry, dehydrate, desiccate, parch
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

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dry up

Verb

1. to make or become dry

2. to dry (dishes, cutlery, etc.) with a tea towel after they have been washed

3. (of a resource) to come to an end

4. Informal to stop speaking: she suddenly dried up in the middle of her speech

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	dry up - lose water or moisture; "In the desert, you get dehydrated very quickly" exsiccate, dehydrate, desiccate dry, dry out - remove the moisture from and make dry; "dry clothes"; "dry hair"
	2.	dry up - dry up and shrivel due to complete loss of moisture; "a mummified body was found" mummify shrink, shrivel, shrivel up, wither - wither, as with a loss of moisture; "The fruit dried and shriveled" mummify - remove the organs and dry out (a dead body) in order to preserve it; "Th Egyptians mummified their pharaohs"