high and dry

adjective

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Definition of high and dry

1 : being out of reach of the current or tide or out of the water

2 : being in a helpless or abandoned position

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Examples of high and dry in a Sentence

the inadequate supplies of vaccine left many people high and dry when the flu season arrived

Recent Examples on the Web Right now, California is swimming in so much vaccine that counties are turning shipments down — but even so, some vulnerable people are being left high and dry. — Thuc Nhi Nguyen Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, "Coronavirus Today: We’re going to Disneyland!," 29 Apr. 2021 If groundwater levels continue to decline just a bit more, many of those wells could be left high and dry. — Ian James, The Arizona Republic, "A 'hidden crisis': Millions of groundwater wells are at risk of running dry, scientists find," 28 Apr. 2021 Don't take chances – get the right vaccine passport, or you could be left high and dry. — Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, "Vaccine passports: How to prove you've gotten your COVID-19 shots for travel and avoid scams," 2 Apr. 2021 Herkelman said after gamers were left high and dry during the previous mining craze, the company made the conscious decision to split its compute products from gaming products. — Gordon Mah Ung, PCWorld, "How to find a new AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT: Go to the store," 18 Mar. 2021 And since bars that are not attached to restaurants are still off limits under state COVID-19 restrictions, Paddy’s has been left high and dry for a year. — Andy Rosen, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Does COVID only come in when there’s no food?’: Bars and clubs wonder why they’re last to reopen in Mass.," 9 Mar. 2021 Failure to show the right ones can leave a company high and dry. — Zenger News, Forbes, "Brands Walk A Marketing Tightrope Over Political Chasms," 25 Feb. 2021 The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club headquarters building should remain high and dry during future flooding, thanks to a $340,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to an announcement from City Hall. — Doug Maccash | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, "City Hall secures $340,000 FEMA grant to raise Zulu headquarters above flood line," 22 Dec. 2020 Olsen had alleged that Sarkozy was attempting to force her out of their $29,000-per-month Gramercy Park pad mid-pandemic, leaving her high and dry, per the New York Post. — Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, "Mary-Kate Olsen’s Lawyer Says Divorce Is ‘Resolved’," 13 Jan. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'high and dry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near high and dry

high altar

high-altitude training

Statistics for high and dry

Last Updated

12 May 2021

Cite this Entry

“High and dry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high%20and%20dry. Accessed 17 May. 2021.

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