come up dry

idiom

: to fail to produce water, oil, etc.
They drilled for oil but the well came up dry.
often used figuratively
They went searching for clues but came up dry.

Examples of come up dry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There are just four traditional logoed trucker hats currently available on the Bass Pro Shops website, and customers often come up dry when trying to nab their hat of choice. Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 13 Dec. 2021 The water year has officially come to an end — and once again, the Bay Area has come up dry. Kellie Hwang, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Oct. 2021 So far, she's come up dry. Megan Janetsky, ajc, 24 Dec. 2022 His agent, Jorge Mendes, has shopped him around Europe for weeks, only to come up dry. Joshua Robinson, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022 The new well has come up dry, and the ponds are empty. Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Aug. 2021 The Class of 2021 might come up dry for Alabama, too. Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 8 Aug. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come up dry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near come up dry

Cite this Entry

“Come up dry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20up%20dry. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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