[also more dry; most dry] 1 a : having no or very little water or liquid
▪ a dry riverbed ▪ Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the milk and eggs. ▪ a cool, dry place ▪ Wipe the surface dry. [=wipe the surface until it is dry] ▪ The air is usually dry during the winter. [=there is very little moisture in the air] ▪ the dry heat of the desert ▪ We tried to stay/keep dry in the rain by standing under a tree. ▪ The stream is usually (as) dry as a bone [=completely dry] this time of year. ▪ The stream is bone dry.
b : no longer wet
▪ Are the clothes dry yet? ▪ The paint should be dry in a few hours. 2 : having no rain or little rain
▪ This has been an unusually dry summer. [=there has been little rain this summer] ▪ a stretch of dry weather ▪ a dry spell/season ▪ a country with a very dry climate ▪ This plant does well in dry conditions. 3 a : not having the usual or desired amount of moisture
▪ My throat is dry. ▪ My lips are dry. ▪ dry, itchy skin ▪ dry hair ▪ The medication can cause dry mouth. [=a condition in which the inside of your mouth become very dry]
b : having the moisture removed by cooking or some other process
▪ The chicken was dry and tasteless. ▪ dry [=powdered] milk 4 : not producing a wet substance
▪ a dry cough [=a cough that does not produce any phlegm] ▪ The baby stayed dry all night. [=the baby did not urinate all night] ▪ His eyes were dry. [=there were no tears in his eyes] ◊If there is not a dry eye in the house/room (etc.), everyone in a place is emotional or is affected deeply by something.
▪ When the hero proclaimed his love for the heroine at the end of the play, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. 5 : no longer producing water, oil, etc.
▪ a dry well ▪ a dry oil well ▪ The well went/ran dry. ▪ (chiefly US) They drilled for oil but the well came up dry. — often used figuratively ▪ The author went through a dry [=unproductive] period and couldn't write anything. ▪ The group stayed together despite several dry [=unsuccessful] years. ▪ They went searching for clues but came up dry. [=came up empty] 6 : served or eaten without butter, jam, etc.
▪ a breakfast of dry toast and coffee 7 of wine, sherry, etc. : not sweet
▪ a very dry red wine ▪ dry sherry 8 : not interesting, exciting, or emotional
▪ The novel included several long, dry [=boring] passages. ▪ His lectures were usually very dry. 9 : funny or clever but expressed in a quiet or serious way
▪ He has a very dry sense of humor. ▪ a dry wit 10 a : not having or offering alcoholic beverages
▪ a dry party
b : not allowing alcoholic beverages
▪ The college campus has been dry for 10 years. ▪ a dry state/county [=a state/county where alcoholic beverages cannot be sold]
c : not drinking alcoholic beverages
▪ He's been dry [=sober] for several years now.