drying

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive or intransitive

   Present participle of dry: losing water or moisture, or making something lose water.

   Grammar: As part of a continuous verb phrase, it can take an object (I am drying the dishes) or stand alone (The paint is drying).

   Patterns

   • be drying something
   • be drying in/on something
   • be drying out

   The clothes are drying on the line in the sun.

   She is drying her hair with a towel after swimming.

   The paint is drying more slowly than the label promised.

2. 2noununcountable

   The process of removing water or moisture from something so that it becomes dry.

   Grammar: Used as a noun, it usually appears with a determiner or before another noun: the drying of fruit, drying time.

   Patterns

   • the drying of something
   • drying time
   • drying process

   Drying is the oldest way to preserve fish and meat.

   Proper drying of the herbs keeps their flavor for months.

   The drying of the lake has worried local farmers.

3. 3adjectivebefore a noun

   Used before a noun to describe something used for or connected with making things dry.

   Grammar: Always comes before the noun it describes; it is not used after a linking verb.

   Patterns

   • drying rack
   • drying line
   • drying time

   Please hang the towels on the drying rack.

   We bought a new drying mat for the kitchen counter.

   The recipe gives a drying time of about two hours.

Common combinations

drying rack

She folded the clean shirts and put them on the drying rack.

drying time

In humid weather, the drying time for this glue doubles.

hair drying

He set the hair drying to a low heat.

drying out

The drying out of the wetland has harmed local wildlife.

slow drying

Choose slow drying paint for a smoother finish.

Synonyms and how they differ

dehydrating

More technical and often suggests removing nearly all water, especially from food, rather than just letting something become dry.

desiccating

Formal or scientific; it emphasizes extreme dryness and is rarely used for everyday things like laundry.

air-drying

A narrower term meaning drying by exposure to air rather than by heat or a machine.

Opposites

Word family

dry verb

To remove water from something or to become dry.

dry adjective

Having little or no water or moisture.

dryer noun

A machine or device that dries things, such as a hair dryer.

dryness noun

The state of being dry.

dried adjective

Having had the water removed, as with dried fruit.

Commonly confused: drying or drying?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “drying”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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