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

As the years passed, tips came in less and less frequently and, over time, dried up entirely. —Veronica Fulton, NBC News, 3 Nov. 2024

Though guttation is a common occurrence on these fruiting bodies, the bright red droplets eventually dry up and turn more brown colored. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 31 Oct. 2024

The Amazon river is drying up, but despite the alarming decline, Latin American countries and consumers still rely heavily on fossil fuels, increasing carbon emissions. —Marianne Lehnis, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

But even that online money-spinning success has dried up, with YouTube offering advertisers far lower rates than traditional network broadcasts. —Alena Botros, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense