dry

/dɹaɪ/

//dɹaɪ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dry" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dry” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,857 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#1,857
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Free from or lacking moisture.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

dry vs DS
0% similar
dry vs DT
0% similar
dry vs dw
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for dry
PropertyValue
Headworddry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/dɹaɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#1,857
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dry” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). dry lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for dry is 3 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɹaɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,857 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 21 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

dry has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DS", "DT", "dw", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Adjective and noun from Middle English drye, dryge, drüȝe, from Old English drȳġe (“dry; parched, withered”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgī, *draugī, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz, *draugiz (“dry, hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to strengthen; b… The correct English form is dry, spelled D-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Free from or lacking moisture.
  2. 2
    Unable to produce a liquid, as water, (petrochemistry) oil, or (agriculture) milk.
  3. 3
    Built without or lacking mortar.
  4. 4
    Anhydrous: free from or lacking water in any state, regardless of the presence of other liquids.
  5. 5
    Athirst, eager.
  6. 6
    Free from or lacking alcohol or alcoholic beverages.
  7. 7
    Describing an area where sales of alcoholic or strong alcoholic beverages are banned.
  8. 8
    Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness, particularly
  9. 9
    Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  10. 10
    Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  11. 11
    Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  12. 12
    Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  13. 13
    Free from or lacking embellishment or sweetness
  14. 14
    Not using afterburners or water injection for increased thrust.
  15. 15
    Involving computations rather than work with biological or chemical matter.
  16. 16
    Free from applied audio effects (especially reverb).
  17. 17
    Without a usual complement or consummation; impotent.
  18. 18
    Without a usual complement or consummation; impotent.
  19. 19
    In a dry spell (e.g., unemployed, slow).
  20. 20
    Of a mass, service, or rite: involving neither consecration nor communion.
  21. 21
    Mixed with sauce and not served in a soup.

Etymology

Adjective and noun from Middle English drye, dryge, drüȝe, from Old English drȳġe (“dry; parched, withered”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgī, *draugī, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz, *draugiz (“dry, hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to strengthen; become hard”), from *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). The verb derives from Middle English drien, from Old English drȳġan (“to dry”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgijan, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz (“hard, desiccated, dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“strong, hard, solid”). cognates and related terms Cognate with Scots dry, drey (“dry”), North Frisian drüg, driig, Saterland Frisian druuch (“dry”), West Frisian droech (“dry”), Dutch droog (“dry”), Low German dröög (“dry”), German dröge (“dull”), Icelandic draugur (“a dry log”). Related also to German trocken (“dry”), West Frisian drege (“long-lasting”), Danish drøj (“tough”), Swedish dryg (“lasting, hard”), Icelandic drjúgur (“ample, long”), Latin firmus (“strong, firm, stable, durable”). See also drought, drain, dree.

Synonyms

soberanhydrousaridbone drydroughtydrydry as a boneexsuccousparchedsaresearsereunmoistwaterless

Antonyms

wetwetwetwet

This word in other languages

seco(Español)sec(Français)trocken(Deutsch)seco(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dry"?
"dry" is spelled D-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /dɹaɪ/.
What does "dry" mean?
As an adjective, "dry" means: Free from or lacking moisture.
What words are commonly confused with "dry"?
"dry" is commonly confused with "DS", "DT", "dw". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dry" is /dɹaɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dry"?
Adjective and noun from Middle English drye, dryge, drüȝe, from Old English drȳġe (“dry; parched, withered”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgī, *draugī, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz, *draugiz (“dry, hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to str... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “dry”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /dɹaɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “DS” - see the side-by-side comparison. dry vs DS
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list