dry run

noun

1
: a practice exercise : rehearsal, trial
2
: a practice firing without ammunition

Examples of dry run in a Sentence

We did a dry run of the experiment. After several dry runs, she was ready to give the speech.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
UAGateway’s principal, Kristina Dvorakovskaya, had conducted a dry run in which the staff figured out how to, in an emergency, redistribute 400 phones in about five minutes. Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025 Israel has intermittently launched such long-range airstrikes since July 2024, after a Houthi drone hit Tel Aviv, in combat missions that, especially in retrospect, served as dry runs for the June air war against Iran. Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025 In March, the team did a large-scale dry run of the dispersal at an open air testing facility on a naval base in New Jersey. ArsTechnica, 11 Aug. 2025 In addition to this tariff dry run giving him a better understanding of the limits of executive trade authority, Ross added that Trump now has the political capital to solidify these policies. Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for dry run

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1941, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dry run was circa 1941

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dry run.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dry%20run. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

dry run

noun
1
: a practice firing without ammunition
2
: a practice exercise
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!