dry up

verb

dried up; drying up; dries up

transitive verb

: to cut off the supply of

intransitive verb

1

: to disappear as if by evaporation, draining, or cutting off of a source of supply

2

: to wither or die through gradual loss of vitality

3

: to stop talking

Synonyms of dry up

• quiet (down)
• hush
• clam up
• shut up
• settle (down)
• pipe down
• cool (down)
• calm (down)

Examples of dry up in a Sentence

sick of her constant complaining, he angrily told her to dry up

Recent Examples on the Web

Portions of the river similarly dried up in 2021, 2022 and 2023, even after the state started imposing limits on how much water farmers could take. — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

As public funds dry up, private contributions are helping fill the gap. — Zoey Thomas, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2026

This would be best done in late May and early June when the leaves are drying up. — Dr. Matthew Lisy, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026

Business in villages like Bajo Chiquito dried up, and villagers returned to growing plantains. — Belén Fernández, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for dry up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup