adj, name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   One who, or that which, dries; any device or facility employed to remove water or humidity, e.g. a desiccative

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

2. 2
   an appliance that removes moisture wordnet
3. 3
   Short for clothes dryer, tumble dryer abbreviation, alt-of
4. 4
   Short for hair dryer abbreviation, alt-of, rare
5. 5
   A catalyst used to promote the drying of paints and varnishes by oxidative crosslinking.

Adjective

1. 1
   comparative form of dry: more dry US, comparative, form-of

Proper Noun

1. 1
   A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms

clothes dryerdrierequipmentphotographic equipment

Example

More examples

"Those who have long hair own a hair dryer."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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

Etymology 2

From dry + -er (comparative suffix).

Related phrases

blow dryerblow-dryerdryer balldryer buzzerdryer sheethair-dryerhand dryerjet dryerspin dryertumbler dryerwasher-dryerhair dryer

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.