drought

noun

ˈdrau̇t 

variants or less commonly drouth

ˈdrau̇th 

1

: a period of dryness especially when prolonged

specifically : one that causes extensive damage to crops or prevents their successful growth

resistant to drought

2

: a prolonged or chronic shortage or lack of something expected or desired

a drought of creativity

droughtiness

ˈdrau̇-tē-nəs 

noun

droughty

ˈdrau̇-tē

adjective

Synonyms

• crunch
• dearth
• deficiency
• deficit
• failure
• famine
• inadequacy
• inadequateness
• insufficiency
• lack
• lacuna
• paucity
• pinch
• poverty
• scantiness
• scarceness
• scarcity
• shortage
• undersupply
• want

Examples of drought in a Sentence

The drought caused serious damage to crops.

a period of drought that lasted several years

Recent Examples on the Web

General manager Monte McNair, assistant general manager Wes Wilcox and the rest of the front office must improve the roster and coach Mike Brown will be expected to get the team back to the playoffs after ending a 16-year drought in 2023. —Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 8 June 2024

The tropical Pacific climate pattern that arrived last summer is associated with hotter global temperatures, as well as droughts in the tropics and some southern continents. —Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024

Only when an extreme drought in 1970 transformed an area the size of Illinois into desert did the government began to develop the fishing industry. —Jack Thompson, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2024

In a twist, California, which suffered a severe drought in recent years, has lately been awash. —Ivan Penn Ruth Fremson, New York Times, 3 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English drūgath, from drūgian to dry up; akin to Old English drȳge dry — more at dry

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

drought

noun

variants also drouth

ˈdrau̇t 

ˈdrau̇th

: a long period of dry weather

droughty

-ē

adjective