adjective
Etymology
Origin of bone-dry
First recorded in 1815–25
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
De Angelis and Waltz are also a hoot together, she as a heaving, hissing vampire bride who can’t stop licking her chops, he as a bone-dry vampire hunter dedicated to his investigation.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026
“This Is Not About Us” mines excellent, bone-dry humor from the neuroses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
It’s dry but not bone-dry, a wine to please a wide range of palates.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
Broccoli growers are particularly struggling with a lack of water and bone-dry soils, with yields cut by more than 50%, quality affected and shoppers warned to expect smaller vegetables on the shelves.
From BBC • Aug. 17, 2025
The sky was cloudless and the streets were bone-dry.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
