Standard Lemma guide

dryer

adj · name · noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈdɹaɪɚ/
  • General-American: [ˈdɹaɪɚ]
  • General-American, sometimes: [ˈd͡ʒɹaɪɚ]
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈdɹaɪə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -aɪə(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: D R AY1 ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

comparative form of dry: more dry

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, comparative, form-of

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

One who, or that which, dries; any device or facility employed to remove water or humidity, e.g. a desiccative

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The sun and a northwesterly wind are great driers of the earth.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Short for clothes dryer, tumble dryer

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of

Qualifier: most often

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Short for hair dryer

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A catalyst used to promote the drying of paints and varnishes by oxidative crosslinking.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

an appliance that removes moisture

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: drier

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: appliance

Narrower terms: clothes dryer, clothes drier, hand blower, blow dryer, blow drier, hair dryer, hair drier

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English dry Proto-Indo-European *-yōs Proto-Germanic *-izô Proto-West Germanic *-iʀō Proto-Germanic *-ōzô Proto-West Germanic *-ōʀō Old English -ra Middle English -ere English -er English dryer From dry + -er (comparative suffix).

From Middle English driere, dreyere (“one who dries”), equivalent to dry + -er (agent noun suffix).

Across languages

Translations

54 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Esperanto: sekigilo — any device that removes humidity
  • Hungarian: szárító — any device that removes humidity
  • Kazakh: кептіргіш (keptırgış) — any device that removes humidity
  • Korean: 건조기 (geonjogi) — any device that removes humidity
  • Portuguese: secador — any device that removes humidity
  • Spanish: secador — any device that removes humidity
  • Spanish: secadora — any device that removes humidity
  • Tibetan: སྐམ་ཡག་འཕྲུལ་འཁོར (skam yag 'phrul 'khor) — any device that removes humidity
  • Azerbaijani: quruducu — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Bulgarian: суши́лня (sušílnja) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Catalan: assecadora — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 烘乾機 /烘干机 (hōnggānjī) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 乾衣機 /干衣机 (gānyījī) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Czech: sušička — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Danish: tørretumbler — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Dutch: droger — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Finnish: kuivuri — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Finnish: kuivain — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Finnish: kuivausrumpu — household appliance for drying clothing
  • French: sèche-linge — household appliance for drying clothing
  • French: sécheuse — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Georgian: საშრობი (sašrobi) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • German: Trockner — household appliance for drying clothing
  • German: Wäschetrockner — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Hebrew: מייבש כביסה (meyabésh k'visá) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Icelandic: þurrkari — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Irish: triomadóir — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Italian: essiccatoio — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Japanese: 衣類乾燥機 (irui kansōki) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Japanese: 乾燥機 (kansōki) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Kazakh: кептіргіш (keptırgış) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Korean: 빨래 건조기 (ppallae geonjogi) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Korean: 건조기 (geonjogi) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Mongolian: хатаагч (xataagč) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Mongolian: ᠬᠠᠲᠠᠭᠠᠭᠴᠢ (qatagaɣči) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Norman: s'tcheux — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Norwegian: tørketrommel — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Polish: suszarka — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Portuguese: secadora — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Russian: суши́льная маши́на (sušílʹnaja mašína) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Russian: суши́лка (sušílka) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Serbo-Croatian: sušilo — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Serbo-Croatian: sušilica — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Serbo-Croatian: sušionik — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Spanish: secadora — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Spanish: secarropas — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Swedish: torktumlare — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Tagalog: patuyuan — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Tibetan: དུག་སློག་སྐམ་ཡག་འཕྲུལ་འཁོར (dug slog skam yag 'phrul 'khor) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Turkish: kurutucu — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Turkish: kurutma makinesi — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Ukrainian: суша́рка (sušárka) — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Uzbek: qurituvchi — household appliance for drying clothing
  • Welsh: sychwr — household appliance for drying clothing