dehydrate

verb de·hy·drate \ (ˌ)dē-ˈhī-ˌdrāt \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Definition of dehydrate

1 a : to remove bound water or hydrogen and oxygen from (a chemical compound) in the proportion in which they form water

b : to remove water from (something, such as a food)

2 : to deprive of vitality or savor

intransitive verb

: to lose water or body fluids

—

dehydrator

play \-ˌdrā-tər\ noun

See dehydrate defined for English-language learners

See dehydrate defined for kids

Examples of dehydrate in a Sentence

Salt dehydrates the meat and keeps it from spoiling.
Athletes drink lots of water so they don't dehydrate.
Exercising in this heat will dehydrate you.

Recent Examples of dehydrate from the Web

It was really dehydrated, emaciated, super weak, cold, hypothermic, and quite miserable.

— elise takahama, BostonGlobe.com, "Snowy owl found in Wellfleet Harbor dies from rodenticide poisoning," 1 June 2018
Dozens of exotic cats and kittens, some just weeks old, were found sick and dehydrated, abandoned at three spots in Warren.

— christina hall, Detroit Free Press, "Dead, sick, dehydrated cats scattered, dumped in Warren," 1 June 2018
His fever was now a hundred and three, and he was badly dehydrated, so Brother Infirmarian, against his instincts and principles, admitted him as a patient deserving of antibiotics and his devoted attention.

— john l’heureux, The New Yorker, "The Long Black Line," 14 May 2018
However, following every filler appointment, my lips become uncomfortably dehydrated for up to a month.

— devon abelman, Allure, "My Lips Felt Incredibly Dry After Getting Lip Injections — Here's Why," 10 May 2018
Almost all consumed the organ after it was dehydrated, pulverized, and put into capsules.

— marie mccullough, Philly.com, "Moms, it's safe for your newborn if you eat the placenta," 3 May 2018
Instead, Mickiewicz dehydrated the queso, then ground it up and mixed it with fleur de sel, cracked black pepper, and Aleppo pepper to rim the glass.

— julia thiel, Chicago Reader, "Booze / Cocktail Challenge / Food & Drink Watch a bartender turn a perfect pairing—queso dip with a michelada—into a cocktail," 29 Mar. 2018
Erin Hisrich, who owns the clinic, said Grace was severely dehydrated and will need to have her blood-sugar stabilized and kidneys functioning before she could be adopted.

— CBS News, "Nearly 200 horses found dead amid Southwest drought in Arizona," 6 May 2018
With temperatures dropping below -40 deg C, dehydrated, fatigued, and descending very exposed terrain, we were tested all night.

— beth bragg, Anchorage Daily News, "Aussie conquers Denali, then heads to Everest in effort to set Seven Summits speed record," 18 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dehydrate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Dehydrating food is a good way to preserve it; raisins, which are dehydrated grapes, are a good example. Dehydration through industrial processes makes it possible to keep food even longer and store it in a smaller space. Freeze-drying produces food that only needs rehydration—that is, the addition of water—to restore its original consistency. Runners, cyclists, and hikers fearful of dehydration seem to be constantly hydrating themselves nowadays, sometimes even using a shoulder pack with a tube going straight into the mouth. Dehydrate can also be used for making something "dry" or "lifeless;" thus, a dull teacher can dehydrate American history, and an unimaginative staging can dehydrate a great Shakespeare play.