fried

adjective

ˈfrīd 

1

: cooked in hot oil or butter : cooked by frying

fried eggs

fried chicken

fried dough

2

: damaged or destroyed by an electrical surge or malfunction

The man behind the counter hooked up my computer to another machine and then gave me the bad news. "I'm afraid your hard drive is fried," the technician said.

—Tom McNichol

3

US, informal

a

: intoxicated, high

… too fried on crystal meth to be gambling on a game of pool, but doing it nonetheless.

—Joseph Wambaugh

… what about that time you got fried at the frat house after the big game against State and the judge fined you $50 and costs for dropping quarts of beer in paper bags out the second-floor window?

—Russell Baker

b

: mentally exhausted

At dinner after the book signing, he's fried, barely able to converse.

—Rick Martin

After spending about 14 hours on ESPN Radio, SportsCenter and espn.com, Gammons was completely fried.

—Rich Eisen

Synonyms of fried

• drunk
• drunken
• wet
• impaired
• wasted
• stewed
• pickled
• bombed
• blind

Examples of fried in a Sentence

Sorry, I'm just fried today.

grew up in a family in which Dad got fried on every weekend and holiday

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, meals like chili, soup, and even fried chicken are even better the next time around. —Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 25 Feb. 2026

Waiting long to eat fried chicken is unfair to the dish. —John Marks, Charlotte Observer, 24 Feb. 2026

For Lent, look for fried catfish and cod served with two sides. —Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Feb. 2026

The eatery offers classic burgers, fries, fried chicken, sandwiches, cocktails and more. —Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 16 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fried

• chicken-fried steak
• fried rice

Rhymes for fried

• bide
• bride
• chide
• cried
• died
• dried
• dyed
• eid
• eide
• eyed
• flied
• glide