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

• belt up [British]
• clam up
• dummy up
• hush
• pipe down
• quiet (down)
• shut up

Example Sentences

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Rather, advertisers are panicking as traditional sources of data dry up. —Tatum Hunter, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2023

In addition to causing villages to flood and food sources to dry up, that’s also melting the permafrost that lies under the tundra’s surface, threatening infrastructure. —Wes Siler, Outside Online, 2 Feb. 2023

But up and down the typically mighty river, drought is causing the waters to dry up. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2022

Uh, will the money dry up? —Quartz Staff, Quartz, 10 Mar. 2023

That's a 21 percent increase from 2021 and the most money Tesla has made from regulatory credits, despite fears that the introduction of EVs from traditional OEMs would cause this to dry up. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 25 Jan. 2023

Figuring out a more cost-effective method of delivering tutoring is key given the fiscal cliff districts face once relief funds dry up. —Alia Wong, USA TODAY, 22 Nov. 2022

Claims by Rapp and others saw career opportunities for Spacey dry up. —Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Nov. 2022

Investors are calling on multilateral lenders to do more to support countries that are struggling to repay debts as global funding conditions dry up. —Prinesha Naidoo, Bloomberg.com, 13 Oct. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense