dried

dried — verb

1. the form of the verb dry used in the simple past and as a past participle

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

the form of the verb dry used in the simple past and as a past participle

Example

Marco dried his hands on a clean kitchen towel before opening the oven.

transitive: dried + object (clothes, hands, dishes)

Élise hung her swimsuit on the line and it dried in just two hours.

intransitive: something dried (no direct object)

Common collocations
  • dried + object (clothes, hair, dishes, hands)
  • dried by + method (sun, air, towel, machine)
  • completely dried
  • dried off
  • dried out

Grammar Patterns

dry + object (causative)

dry (intransitive)

Usage Note

As the past tense, 'dried' describes a completed action in the past. As a past participle, it combines with 'have/has/had' for perfect tenses, and with 'be/get' for passive structures such as 'The clothes were dried in the sun'.

Common Mistakes

He dryed his hair with a towel.
He dried his hair with a towel.
The base verb 'dry' changes 'y' to 'i' and adds '-ed', not '-yed'.

dried — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Dried', 'dehydrated', and 'preserved' all relate to keeping food from spoiling, but they differ in scope and register. 'Dried' is the everyday word for food that has had its natural moisture taken out, usually by air, sun, or gentle heat — you buy dried fruit, dried herbs, or dried meat at any grocery store. 'Dehydrated' is a more technical or scientific term, often used for food processed in a factory or by a special machine, such as dehydrated potato flakes or dehydrated soup mixes. 'Preserved' is the broadest term, covering any method of preventing decay — drying, salting, pickling, smoking, or canning. For example: 'I added dried apricots to the bread dough,' but 'The hikers carried dehydrated camping meals,' and 'Traditional Chinese preserved vegetables include salted cabbage and dried radish.'

dried ↗dehydrated ↗preserved

Common collocations

Nouns

  • dried fruit
  • dried herbs
  • dried flowers
  • dried beans
  • dried meat
  • dried mushrooms
  • dried fish
  • dried milk

Adverbs

  • completely dried
  • fully dried
  • partially dried
  • carefully dried

Phrases

  • dried out
  • dried up
  • dried off
  • dried in the sun

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Dried' is the past participle and past tense form of the verb 'dry'. The verb 'dry' comes from the Old English adjective 'drȳge', meaning 'free from moisture, parched'. This Old English word traces back to the Proto-Germanic '*draugiz', which is related to the Dutch 'droog' and German 'trocken' (both meaning 'dry'). The spelling changed from 'dryed' to 'dried' during the late Middle English period, following the standard rule of changing '-y' to '-i-' before adding '-ed'.