dry up

verb

dried up; drying up; dries up

transitive verb

: to cut off the supply of

intransitive verb

1

: to disappear as if by evaporation, draining, or cutting off of a source of supply

2

: to wither or die through gradual loss of vitality

3

: to stop talking

Synonyms

• belt up [British]
• clam up
• dummy up
• hush
• pipe down
• quiet (down)
• shut up

Examples of dry up in a Sentence

sick of her constant complaining, he angrily told her to dry up

Recent Examples on the Web

But beneath the surface, their market was drying up. —Hank Tucker, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025

But since then, federal stimulus money has dried up, costs have increased and budgets have tightened. —Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post, 16 Feb. 2025

Cellphone messages provide a cherished link for Ukrainians whose partners are away fighting, but when the answers dry up, the last words can become poignant symbols of loss. —Constant Méheut, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025

Construction companies overbuilt during the housing bubble, and were left with a glut of homes when credit dried up and unemployment soared. —Andrea Riquier, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for dry up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup