1
: cooked in hot oil or butter : cooked by frying
fried eggs
fried chicken
fried dough
2
: damaged or destroyed by an electrical surge or malfunction
The man behind the counter hooked up my computer to another machine and then gave me the bad news. "I'm afraid your hard drive is fried," the technician said.Tom McNichol
3
US, informal
a
: intoxicated, high
… too fried on crystal meth to be gambling on a game of pool, but doing it nonetheless.Joseph Wambaugh
… what about that time you got fried at the frat house after the big game against State and the judge fined you $50 and costs for dropping quarts of beer in paper bags out the second-floor window?Russell Baker
b
: mentally exhausted
At dinner after the book signing, he's fried, barely able to converse.Rick Martin
After spending about 14 hours on ESPN Radio, SportsCenter and espn.com, Gammons was completely fried.Rich Eisen

Examples of fried in a Sentence

Sorry, I'm just fried today. grew up in a family in which Dad got fried on every weekend and holiday
Recent Examples on the Web Appetizers include tempura lobster tails, chicken wings and fried calamari, and mains include short-ribs, pastas and a NY strip. Mckenzie Rankin, Axios, 24 Oct. 2024 And not from the Pioneer Chicken Stand’s fried wings. Henry Everingham, SPIN, 17 Oct. 2024 The neighborhood spot is a popular stop for fried pickles, buffalo chicken quesadillas, jalapeno poppers, several types of wings and fries and so much more. Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024 Processions usually end at cemeteries, where people place food (including fried plantains, grilled sweet corn and sweet cakes), drink (rum and coffee) and lit candles on graves. Matt Ralphs, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fried 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fried.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fried was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near fried

Cite this Entry

“Fried.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fried. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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