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
droughty
adjective
ˈdrau̇-tē
Synonyms
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 salmon industry faces extinction — not because of drought, but politics and government policies.
—
Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
That drought ended when the Crusaders defeated Vincent Memorial 13-5.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Ultimately, after overcoming injuries to Monk and Kevin Huerter in their win over the Warriors, the Kings couldn’t muster enough offense to reach the playoffs after ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history last spring.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 20 Apr. 2024
According to Duflo’s proposal, the two tax programs would generate about $400 billion each year in public funding to mitigate the climate change disasters, like heat waves, floods, droughts, and intense storms, that people in poor countries face much more severely than those in developed countries.
—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 20 Apr. 2024
Because Porto Praia has no road access and is normally reachable only by river, the drought meant that residents had to walk for kilometers along the dry riverbed to reach their homes.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
Other river threats mentioned in the report include longer droughts, rising temperatures, competition for limited water supplies, and infrastructure such as highways and dams that affect water flow and wetlands.
—USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2024
The river conservation nonprofit released its annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers list Tuesday to call attention to 10 of the most at-risk rivers and streams due to drought, pollution and climate change.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024
Water may be scarce, and climate change may be ushering in more extreme droughts, but this landscape fortifies them.
—Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
That drought ended when the Crusaders defeated Vincent Memorial 13-5.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Ultimately, after overcoming injuries to Monk and Kevin Huerter in their win over the Warriors, the Kings couldn’t muster enough offense to reach the playoffs after ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history last spring.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 20 Apr. 2024
According to Duflo’s proposal, the two tax programs would generate about $400 billion each year in public funding to mitigate the climate change disasters, like heat waves, floods, droughts, and intense storms, that people in poor countries face much more severely than those in developed countries.
—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 20 Apr. 2024
Because Porto Praia has no road access and is normally reachable only by river, the drought meant that residents had to walk for kilometers along the dry riverbed to reach their homes.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
Other river threats mentioned in the report include longer droughts, rising temperatures, competition for limited water supplies, and infrastructure such as highways and dams that affect water flow and wetlands.
—USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2024
The river conservation nonprofit released its annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers list Tuesday to call attention to 10 of the most at-risk rivers and streams due to drought, pollution and climate change.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024
Water may be scarce, and climate change may be ushering in more extreme droughts, but this landscape fortifies them.
—Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near drought
Cite this Entry
“Drought.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drought. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
drought
noun
variants
also drouth
ˈdrau̇t 
ˈdrau̇th
: a long period of dry weather
droughty
adjective
-ē
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