come up dry
idiom
: to fail to produce water, oil, etc.
They drilled for oil but the well came up dry.
—often used figurativelyThey went searching for clues but came up dry.
Examples of come up dry in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There are just four traditional logoed trucker hats currently available on the Bass Pro Shops website, and customers often come up dry when trying to nab their hat of choice.
—
Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 13 Dec. 2021
The water year has officially come to an end — and once again, the Bay Area has come up dry.
—Kellie Hwang, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Oct. 2021
So far, she's come up dry.
—Megan Janetsky, ajc, 24 Dec. 2022
His agent, Jorge Mendes, has shopped him around Europe for weeks, only to come up dry.
—Joshua Robinson, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022
The new well has come up dry, and the ponds are empty.
—Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Aug. 2021
The Class of 2021 might come up dry for Alabama, too.
—Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 8 Aug. 2020
Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 13 Dec. 2021
The water year has officially come to an end — and once again, the Bay Area has come up dry.
—Kellie Hwang, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Oct. 2021
So far, she's come up dry.
—Megan Janetsky, ajc, 24 Dec. 2022
His agent, Jorge Mendes, has shopped him around Europe for weeks, only to come up dry.
—Joshua Robinson, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022
The new well has come up dry, and the ponds are empty.
—Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Aug. 2021
The Class of 2021 might come up dry for Alabama, too.
—Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 8 Aug. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come up dry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near come up dry
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“Come up dry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20up%20dry. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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