dry eye

noun

: a condition associated with inadequate tear production and marked by redness, itching, and burning of the eye

called also dry eye syndrome

Examples of dry eye in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Vision Council also found 63% of adults have never heard of digital eye strain or know only its name, and half say the same of dry eye disease. — Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Oct. 2026

By the finale, there’s hardly a dry eye in the place — including onstage. — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026

Patients typically spend years navigating symptoms – dry eyes and mouth, pain, fatigue and others – without answers. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026

This is just one instance where decades of investment and collaboration to fight a disease that affects the global poor had yielded an unexpected benefit – a treatment for eyelid inflammation, dry eyes and rosacea. — Joshua R. Ehrlich, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dry eye

• apply
• awry
• belie
• bely
• bigeye
• bonsai
• buckeye
• comply
• coxae
• decry
• defy
• deny

Medical Definition

dry eye

noun

: a condition associated with inadequate tear production and marked by redness of the conjunctiva, by itching and burning of the eye, and usually by filaments of desquamated epithelial cells adhering to the cornea

called also keratoconjunctivitis sicca