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
All these groups and more will be left high and dry, rolling the dice with every major decision.
—
Kristin Reilly, Baltimore Sun, 17 June 2025
Users across social media — including, notably, kpop stans, who command a large and organized following online — implored their followers to get involved, reserving tickets to the rally with the intent of leaving the stadium open and the president high and dry.
—Emily Baker-White, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
Playing an unnamed surfer stuck high and dry atop a parched parking lot, Cage stares down at the waves below with the thirst of a battered cartoon coyote.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
Emerging research has found that historically, high and dry parts of the Everglades — like pine rocklands — are in fact designed to burn around every four years.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for high and dry
Kristin Reilly, Baltimore Sun, 17 June 2025
Users across social media — including, notably, kpop stans, who command a large and organized following online — implored their followers to get involved, reserving tickets to the rally with the intent of leaving the stadium open and the president high and dry.
—Emily Baker-White, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
Playing an unnamed surfer stuck high and dry atop a parched parking lot, Cage stares down at the waves below with the thirst of a battered cartoon coyote.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
Emerging research has found that historically, high and dry parts of the Everglades — like pine rocklands — are in fact designed to burn around every four years.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for high and dry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for high and dry
Adjective
-
This burden of additional responsibilities and emotional labor with less resources lead many women to feel helpless, leaving divorce as the only escape.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The sunbathers of sleepy Amity Bay are helpless against the unexpected great white shark that hunts their coasts; Spielberg’s talent for suspense, effective horror shocks, and ingenious reinvention of the classic animal-attack movie remain as impressive as ever.—
Christina Newland,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Big corporations can become paralyzed by their own weight.—
S.W. Miliano,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Mullins was left paralyzed and died two years later.—
Austin Hornbostel,
The Tennessean,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
But options for changing that are weak.—
Alan J. Borsuk,
jsonline.com,
30 Aug. 2025
-
Instead, molecules simply bounce around and lose energy, resulting in relatively weak conduction.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Although there are occasional car chases and shootouts and eventually an upsettingly high body count, its cops are not particularly competent (Lizzie, in fact, is notably incompetent, prone to freezing up at inopportune times), and its criminals not especially clever.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“High and dry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/high%20and%20dry. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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