drought

noun

variants or less commonly drouth
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 noun
droughty
ˈdrau̇-tē
adjective

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 The war in Ukraine and extreme weather, such as droughts and floods, also disrupted supply chains, causing companies to get ingredients and goods from different suppliers. Julie Creswell, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023 Maui has been under water restrictions in recent years amid an ongoing drought and has been facing a housing crisis, as costs skyrocket. Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2023 Additionally, these storms could have an impact on drought conditions in the area. Noor Adatia, Dallas News, 19 Sep. 2023 During the most recent drought, the district designed custom flow-restrictor devices to reduce water to wasteful customers. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2023 Stoked by record-breaking heat, drought, and plentiful dry vegetation to fuel the flames, more than 550 fires – in August alone – ravaged tens of thousands of acres of Louisiana land, engulfed homes, and forced entire towns to evacuate. Sara Cline, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Sep. 2023 Related: Nine takeaways from Sam Kennedy's press conference Epstein served as the Red Sox’ general manager from 2002-11 and helped break the franchise’s 86-year World Series drought in 2003. Emma Healy, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Sep. 2023 Amid a prolonged and extreme drought, which has been directly attributed to climate change, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya all saw cholera proliferate over the past year. WIRED, 16 Sep. 2023 Give it a good soak during extreme or prolonged drought. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 11 Sep. 2023 See More

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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of drought was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near drought

Cite this Entry

“Drought.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drought. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.

Kids Definition

drought

noun
variants also drouth
ˈdrau̇t How to pronounce drought (audio)
ˈdrau̇th
: a long period of dry weather
droughty
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on drought

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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