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

That fell apart in the 1979 Iranian Oil Crisis when companies that lost Iranian supplies cut off their customers, sending them into the market to buy up spot supplies, which soon dried up. — Michael Lynch, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

That fight or flight kicked in and all of the saliva in my mouth completely dried up. — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 30 July 2026

As Colorado dries up in a historic drought, scofflaws violating water restrictions have sparked tension throughout the state’s largest metropolitan area, turning residential streets into checkerboards of virtue and vice. — Annie Gowen, Washington Post, 29 July 2026

The power is real, but without a swing change, the homers will dry up. — Owen Poindexter, New York Times, 28 July 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