drought

noun

ˈdrau̇t 

variants or less commonly drouth

ˈdrau̇th 

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

ˈdrau̇-tē-nəs 

noun

droughty

ˈdrau̇-tē

adjective

Synonyms

• crunch
• dearth
• deficiency
• deficit
• failure
• famine
• inadequacy
• inadequateness
• insufficiency
• lack
• lacuna
• paucity
• pinch
• poverty
• scantiness
• scarceness
• scarcity
• shortage
• undersupply
• want

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

Heading into Friday’s Game 6, the New York Knicks hadn’t made it to the Eastern Conference finals since 2000, a drought as long as the camera phone is old. —The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 17 May 2025

With more than a third of the contiguous U.S. in a drought, there has been a surge in the dangerous airborne flu-like disease in humans. —Terry Collins, USA Today, 17 May 2025

Lake Mead, which receives flows from Lake Powell, hit critically low levels during the summer of 2022 following years of drought. —Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025

Black Sun is set in the time of an uninhabitable drought and follows Kai, who struggles with his retracting genital and his wife, Ling, who demeans him with this impotency. —Sara Merican, Deadline, 16 May 2025

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

Rhymes for drought

• bout
• clout
• doubt
• flout
• gout
• grout
• kraut
• lout
• out
• pout
• rout
• scout

Kids Definition

drought

noun

variants also drouth

ˈdrau̇t 

ˈdrau̇th

: a long period of dry weather

droughty

-ē

adjective