as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
the inadequate supplies of vaccine left many people high and dry when the flu season arrived
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Recent Examples of high and dry
Who will sink such millions if flattery from some foreign leader might prompt tariff reductions that would leave new investment here high and dry?
—
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 2 Nov. 2025
That leaves her high and dry, at the mercy of MI5 and the Dogs, but gives Farouk and his cohort Kamal a chance to position themselves at a church for maximum impact.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Under those sturdy leather exteriors, a Gore-tex liner keeps you high and dry, preventing water from entering while shedding unwanted moisture.
—Alice Bennett, Travel + Leisure, 11 Sep. 2025
But as the river changes course the town could soon be left high and dry and that's fueling a border dispute with neighboring Peru.
—John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for high and dry
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 2 Nov. 2025
That leaves her high and dry, at the mercy of MI5 and the Dogs, but gives Farouk and his cohort Kamal a chance to position themselves at a church for maximum impact.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Under those sturdy leather exteriors, a Gore-tex liner keeps you high and dry, preventing water from entering while shedding unwanted moisture.
—Alice Bennett, Travel + Leisure, 11 Sep. 2025
But as the river changes course the town could soon be left high and dry and that's fueling a border dispute with neighboring Peru.
—John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for high and dry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for high and dry
Adjective
-
The Confederacy would not win foreign recognition, leaving it helpless against a Union blockade.—
Jamelle Bouie,
Mercury News,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Schools, though, aren’t helpless.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
That 1952 outbreak killed some 3,000 people and left more than 20,000 paralyzed.—
Tom Bartlett,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Christopher died from cardiac arrest resulting from sepsis at the age of 52 in 2004, nine years after suffering a horseback riding accident and becoming paralyzed from the neck down.—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Trump has directed his ire toward the Department of Labor agency ever since former Commissioner Erika McEntarfer authorized the release of a weak jobs report last summer.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Procedures harden, decision paths lengthen, and people wait for permission rather than acting on weak signals from the environment.—
Mark Murphy,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Oil from free America bailed out the virtue-signaling, totally incompetent Democrats here.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
1 Feb. 2026
-
That means the former voters died, moved away, registered in another state, were convicted of a felony crime, deemed incompetent to vote by a judge or were removed from the state's voter rolls because of inactivity.—
Molly Beck,
jsonline.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“High and dry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/high%20and%20dry. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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