fried

adjective

ˈfrīd 

1

: cooked in hot oil or butter : cooked by frying

fried eggs

fried chicken

fried dough

2

: damaged or destroyed by an electrical surge or malfunction

The man behind the counter hooked up my computer to another machine and then gave me the bad news. "I'm afraid your hard drive is fried," the technician said.

—Tom McNichol

3

US, informal

a

: intoxicated, high

… too fried on crystal meth to be gambling on a game of pool, but doing it nonetheless.

—Joseph Wambaugh

… what about that time you got fried at the frat house after the big game against State and the judge fined you $50 and costs for dropping quarts of beer in paper bags out the second-floor window?

—Russell Baker

b

: mentally exhausted

At dinner after the book signing, he's fried, barely able to converse.

—Rick Martin

After spending about 14 hours on ESPN Radio, SportsCenter and espn.com, Gammons was completely fried.

—Rich Eisen

Synonyms

• besotted
• blasted [slang]
• blind
• blitzed [slang]
• blotto [slang]
• bombed
• boozy
• canned [slang]
• cockeyed
• crocked
• drunk
• drunken
• gassed
• hammered [slang]
• high
• impaired
• inebriate
• inebriated
• intoxicated
• juiced [slang]
• lit
• lit up
• loaded [slang]
• looped
• oiled [slang]
• pickled
• pie-eyed
• plastered
• potted [slang]
• ripped [slang]
• sloshed [slang]
• smashed [slang]
• sottish
• soused
• sozzled
• squiffed
• squiffy
• stewed
• stiff
• stinking [slang]
• stoned
• tanked [slang]
• tiddly [chiefly British]
• tight
• tipsy
• wasted [slang]
• wet
• wiped out [slang]

Examples of fried in a Sentence

Sorry, I'm just fried today.

grew up in a family in which Dad got fried on every weekend and holiday

Recent Examples on the Web

Hot honey: Four pizzas and two appetizers on Paulie Gee's menu feature this craze, along with fried chicken at The Eagle and Kitchen Social. 🥒 Pickled foods: Get your fix delivered from the Crazy Cucumber. —Alissa Widman Neese, Axios, 6 Jan. 2025

From shrimp platters to crab cakes to fried oysters, Page’s sources much of its seafood locally. —Carolanne Griffith Roberts, Southern Living, 5 Jan. 2025

Queen has also been coordinating with a full-time nutritionist to reduce an inclination for fried foods, snacks and sugary drinks. —Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2025

From noon to 8 p.m. everyday, customers line up at the cafeteria counter to feast on dishes like fried catfish, brisket, candied yams and cornbread. —John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 31 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fried

• chicken-fried steak
• fried rice