drought

drought — noun

1. a long period, from several weeks to years, during which an area receives far le

1.nounB1
Definition

a long period, from several weeks to years, during which an area receives far less rain than normal, often causing water shortages and serious damage to farming, wildlife, and daily life.

Example

Dahlia's village in Ethiopia suffered through a severe drought that dried up the only river.

collocation: severe drought

The three-year drought forced the government to ban all outdoor watering.

collocation: [number]-year drought

Common collocations
  • severe drought
  • prolonged drought
  • extreme drought
  • drought conditions
  • drought-stricken area
  • drought relief
  • drought-resistant crops
  • hit by drought
  • suffer from drought
Synonyms
  • dry spell

    shorter and less severe than a drought; typically lasting days to a few weeks

  • dry period

    neutral, less technical term for any stretch of little rain

  • water shortage

    focuses on the result (not enough water) rather than the cause (lack of rain)

Antonyms
  • flood

    the opposite extreme — an excess of water rather than a deficit

  • wet season

    the period of the year when rainfall is abundant

Grammar Patterns

drought / a drought / droughts

Usage Note

Drought is both countable and uncountable. Use 'a drought' for a specific event and 'drought' as a general condition. Often modified by adjectives indicating severity (severe, extreme) or duration (prolonged, three-year).

Common Mistakes

It hasn't rained for a week — what a drought!
It hasn't rained for a week
what a dry spell!' — Meteorologists distinguish a 'dry spell' (days to a couple of weeks) from a 'drought' (weeks to years).

2. a long period during which there is not enough of something that people need or

2.nounB2
Definition

a long period during which there is not enough of something that people need or want, such as money, success, new ideas, or goals in a sport.

Example

The local theater suffered a funding drought after the city cut its budget.

collocation: funding drought

After a two-year goal drought, Ignacio finally scored in the championship final.

collocation: goal drought

Common collocations
  • funding drought
  • creative drought
  • goal drought
  • scoring drought
  • hiring drought
  • drought of ideas
Synonyms
  • shortage

    more general and less dramatic than drought; does not imply a long period

  • dearth

    formal synonym for a severe lack of something; less common in everyday speech

  • dry spell

    used for a temporary lack of success or luck, often in sports or personal achievement

Antonyms
  • surplus

    the opposite — more than enough of something

  • glut

    an excessive supply, often used in economic contexts

Grammar Patterns

a [noun] drought

Usage Note

In this metaphorical sense, drought is always countable and almost always appears in the pattern 'a [domain] drought' where the first noun names the thing in short supply. Common in sports journalism (goal drought, scoring drought), finance (funding drought), and the arts (creative drought).

Common Mistakes

We had a water drought last summer.
We had a water shortage last summer.
'water drought' is redundant; drought already implies a shortage of water. Use 'water shortage' for emphasis on the resource itself.

Word family

  • drought-stricken
    adjectiveC1
  • drought-prone
    adjectiveC1
  • drought-tolerant
    adjectiveC1
  • drought-resistant
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Drought, dry spell, water shortage, and aridity all relate to a lack of water, but differ in duration, scope, and context. A drought is a prolonged period (weeks to years) of abnormally low rainfall, with widespread environmental and economic impact — the most severe term in this group. A dry spell is much shorter (a few days to a couple of weeks) and rarely causes lasting damage; it is almost a casual observation. Water shortage focuses on the outcome — not enough water for human use — regardless of the cause; a drought causes a water shortage, but a water shortage can also result from broken pipes or population growth. Aridity is a permanent climate condition, not a temporary event: desert regions have aridity year-round. In everyday conversation, 'We're having a drought' suggests a crisis; 'We're having a dry spell' is barely a complaint.

drought ↗dry spellwater shortagearidity

Common collocations

Nouns

  • drought conditions
  • drought relief
  • drought area
  • drought disaster

Phrases

  • suffer from drought
  • hit by drought
  • battle the drought
  • end the drought

Prepositions

  • during a drought
  • through a drought
  • in times of drought

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Drought comes from Old English 'drūgath' meaning 'dryness' or 'drought,' which developed from the Proto-Germanic word '*drūg-' meaning 'dry.' The word has been used for over a thousand years to describe the same basic phenomenon — a long period without rain. Its spelling shifted from the Old English form through Middle English 'drouth' to the modern 'drought.'