dry up

phrasal-verb
UK: /ˌdraɪ ˈʌp/
US: /ˌdraɪ ˈʌp/

  1. To stop producing something, especially liquid.

    1. The river will dry up if it doesn't rain soon so we need water.
    2. The well seemed to dry up completely during the unusually hot summer, leaving the villagers without a reliable source of water.

  2. If a business or source of money dries up, it stops being available.

    1. Funding started to dry up, so the project was stopped because of money.
    2. As tourism began to dry up following the economic downturn, many local businesses struggled to stay afloat.

  3. To stop talking because you are nervous or have forgotten what you were going to say.

    1. I was so nervous that I completely dried up during the presentation to people.
    2. Despite rehearsing for weeks, the actor suddenly dried up on stage, unable to remember his lines.

Synonyms

end fail stop peter out cease

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "dry up" in English means: To stop producing something, especially liquid., If a business or source of money dries up, it stops being available., To stop talking because you are nervous or have forgotten what you were going to say..

The phonetic transcription of "dry up" is /ˌdraɪ ˈʌp/ in British English and /ˌdraɪ ˈʌp/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "dry up": end, fail, stop, peter out, cease.

Example usage of "dry up": "The river will dry up if it doesn't rain soon so we need water.". More examples on the page.