Meaning & use
drought
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A long period of unusually low rainfall that causes a shortage of water.
Grammar: Can be countable (a drought, droughts) or uncountable (suffering from drought).
Patterns
- a drought
- during a drought
- in drought conditions
The drought lasted for three years and ruined many farms.
Water restrictions were introduced during the drought.
Scientists warn that droughts will become more common.
nouncountablefigurative
A long period without something that is usually present.
Grammar: Often used figuratively, especially in sports: a scoring drought.
Patterns
- a drought of something
- end a drought
The team finally ended their scoring drought.
After a drought of good ideas, she suddenly had three.
Word forms
| plural | droughts |
|---|
Common combinations
- severe drought
- The region suffered a severe drought last summer.
- break a drought
- Heavy rain finally broke the drought.
- drought conditions
- Farmers are struggling with drought conditions.
- a period of drought
- The lake shrank during a long period of drought.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dry spell
- A dry spell is a shorter, less severe period without rain; a drought is longer and more serious.
- water shortage
- Water shortage focuses on the lack of water itself, while drought focuses on the weather causing it.
Opposites
Word family
- droughty adjective
- Rare; describes land or weather affected by drought.
Commonly confused: drought or draught?
drought vs draught
A draught (British) or draft (American) is a current of cool air; it sounds like drought but has a different meaning.
Practice
Choose the best word: The farmers lost most of their crops because of a long ___.
Choose one answer.
Drought means a long period without rain, which causes crops to fail. Flood is the opposite, drizzle is light rain, and droplet is a tiny drop of liquid.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “drought”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.