draɪ adj.,
v., & n. --adj. (drier; driest) 1
free from moisture,
not wet, esp.: a
with any moisture having evaporated, drained, or
been wiped
away (the
clothes are not dry yet). b (of
the eyes) free from tears. c (of a
climate etc.) with
insufficient rainfall; not
rainy (a dry spell). d (of a
river, well, etc.)
dried up; not
yielding water. e (of a liquid) having disappeared by evaporation etc. f not
connected with or
for use without moisture (dry shampoo). g (of a shave) with an
electric razor. 2 (of
wine etc.) not
sweet (dry sherry). 3 a
meagre, plain, or
bare (dry facts). b
uninteresting;
dull (dry as dust). 4 (of a
sense of
humour, a
joke, etc.)
subtle,
ironic,
and quietly expressed; not
obvious. 5 (of a
country, of
legislation, etc.) prohibiting the
sale of
alcoholic drink. 6 (of
toast,
bread, etc.) without
butter,
margarine, etc. 7 (of provisions, groceries, etc.)
solid, not
liquid (dry goods). 8
impassive,
unsympathetic;
hard;
cold. 9 (of a cow etc.) not yielding
milk. 10 colloq.
thirsty or thirst-making (feel dry;
this is dry work). 11 Polit. colloq. of or
being a
political 'dry'. --v. (dries, dried) 1 tr. & intr.
make or
become dry by wiping, evaporation, draining, etc. 2 tr. (usu. as dried adj.)
preserve (food etc.) by removing the moisture (dried egg; dried
fruit; dried flowers). 3 intr. (often foll. by up) Theatr. colloq.
forget one's lines. 4 tr. & intr. (often foll. by off)
cease or
cause (a cow etc.) to cease yielding milk. --n. (pl. dries) 1 the process or an
instance of drying. 2 sl. a
politician,
esp. a
Conservative,
who advocates
individual responsibility, free
trade, and
economic stringency, and opposes
high government spending. 3 a (prec. by the) esp.
Austral. colloq. the dry
season. b Austral. a desert
area, waterless country. 4 a dry
ginger ale. b dry wine,
sherry, etc. ødry
battery Electr. an electric battery consisting of dry cells. dry
cell Electr. a cell in
which the
electrolyte is
absorbed in a solid and
cannot be spilled. dry-clean
clean (clothes etc.) with
organic solvents without using water. dry-cleaner a firm
that specializes in dry-cleaning. dry
cough a cough not producing
phlegm. dry-cure
cure (meat etc.) without pickling in liquid. dry dock an
enclosure for the
building or repairing of ships, from which water can be pumped
out. dry-fly adj. (of fishing) with an
artificial fly
floating on the
surface. --v.intr. (-flies, -flied) fish by
such a
method. dry
ice solid
carbon dioxide. dry
land land as opposed to the
sea, a river, etc. dry
measure a measure of
capacity for dry goods. dry milk US dried milk. dry-nurse a
nurse for
young children, not required to breast-feed. dry out 1 become
fully dry. 2 (of a
drug addict, alcoholic, etc.)
undergo treatment to cure
addiction. dry-plate Photog. a photographic
plate with sensitized
film hard and dry for
convenience of
keeping, developing at
leisure, etc. dry-point 1 a
needle for
engraving on a bare copper plate without
acid. 2 an engraving produced with this. dry
rot 1 a decayed
state of
wood when not ventilated, caused by
certain fungi. 2
these fungi. dry
run colloq. a
rehearsal. dry-salt = dry-cure. dry-salter a
dealer in dyes, gums, drugs, oils, pickles, tinned meats, etc. dry-shod without wetting the shoes. dry up 1 make utterly dry. 2 dry dishes. 3 (of moisture)
disappear utterly. 4 (of a well etc.) cease to
yield water. 5 colloq. (esp. in imper.) cease
talking. go dry
enact legislation for the
prohibition of
alcohol. øødryish adj. dryness n. [OE dryge, drygan, rel. to MLG dræge, MDu. droghe, f. Gmc]