drought

noun

ˈdrau̇t 

variants or less commonly drouth

ˈdrau̇th 

1

: a period of dryness especially when prolonged

specifically : one that causes extensive damage to crops or prevents their successful growth

resistant to drought

2

: a prolonged or chronic shortage or lack of something expected or desired

a drought of creativity

droughtiness

ˈdrau̇-tē-nəs 

noun

droughty

ˈdrau̇-tē

adjective

Synonyms

• shortage
• lack

Examples of drought in a Sentence

The drought caused serious damage to crops.

a period of drought that lasted several years

Recent Examples on the Web

But Merz said the cost of those methods often fall on the ranchers, who are dealing with a lot of other pressures like wildfires and drought. —Nathan Rott, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025

Climate change is expected to make droughts more extreme, raising wildfire risks. —Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2025

Sacramento won 48 games to secure the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference in 2022-23, ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history. —Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 21 Aug. 2025

His 89 at-bats and 104 plate appearances without a homer are also career-high droughts. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English drūgath, from drūgian to dry up; akin to Old English drȳge dry — more at dry

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for drought

• bout
• clout
• doubt
• flout
• gout
• grout
• kraut
• lout
• out
• pout
• rout
• scout

Kids Definition

drought

noun

variants also drouth

ˈdrau̇t 

ˈdrau̇th

: a long period of dry weather

droughty

-ē

adjective