drier

1. 1
   adjective

   Comparative of dry.

   The summer months are noticeably drier in this part of the country.

   Seasoned wood burns better because it is drier than freshly cut lumber.

   Note

   The regular comparative of a one-syllable adjective: dry takes -er, and its final y is written as i. American usage also allows dryer for this adjective, so the two spellings partly trade places across the Atlantic (compare the British noun spelling). Whatever the spelling, the comparative follows every meaning of dry, from drier air to a drier county where alcohol is harder to find.

2. 2
   nounBritishCanada

   Alternative spelling of dryer. Chiefly British and Canadian; dryer is the usual US spelling.

   The laundromat's largest drier handled the heavy blankets in one load.

   He unplugged the drier before clearing out the lint trap.

   Note

   This is the spelling chiefly used in British and Canadian writing for the machine or agent that dries. It goes back to Middle English driere, "one who dries," built from dry plus the agent suffix -er. It covers everything dryer does, from a tumble drier or hair drier to the catalyst that helps paint and varnish dry. Because it shares its spelling with the comparative adjective, context decides: a drier is a machine, while drier weather is weather.

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