dries

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular present tense of dry.

   She dries the dishes by hand instead of using the rack.

   Laundry dries quickly on a breezy afternoon.

   Note

   The form carries every sense of the verb, not only the kitchen one. Theater people say an actor dries when the lines vanish mid-performance, an informal use that takes no object. Programmers speak of drying code, making it DRY by removing repetition. Figuratively, something that dries a supply exhausts it, causing it to run dry. The spelling follows the same -y to -ies change as the plural noun.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of dry.

   The dries within the cabinet pushed hard for free-market reforms.

   Party dries clashed openly with the moderates over the budget.

   Note

   One spelling covers several quite different nouns. In US usage, dries are prohibitionists, the opponents of alcohol. Elsewhere the word names places with little or no rain, and in Australia it names stretches of waterless country. The final -y becomes -ies, as in skies. The Australian dry season is called "the dry," always with the definite article.

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