dehydrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deprive (a chemical compound) of water or the elements of water.
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to free (fruit, vegetables, etc.) from moisture for preservation; dry.
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to remove water from (the body or a tissue).
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to deprive of spirit, force, or meaning; render less interesting or effectual.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to lose or cause to lose water; make or become anhydrous
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to lose or cause to lose hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms in the proportions in which they occur in water, as in a chemical reaction
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to lose or deprive of water, as the body or tissues
Related Words
See evaporate.
Other Word Forms
- dehydration noun
- dehydrator noun
Etymology
Origin of dehydrate
Explanation
To make a raisin, you dehydrate a grape. To dehydrate is to remove all of the water from, or to dry up. When you exercise a lot, it's good to drink water so that your body doesn't dehydrate. Signs of dehydration in a person? Dry mouth, exhaustion, dark urine, the chills, and head rushes. If you experience these, get a drink quick! Signs of dehydration in a fruit? Wrinkled skin and extra sweetness. Yum!
Vocabulary lists containing dehydrate
Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
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Elements of the Universe: Hydr, Hydro ("Water")
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Blanch, Poach, and Scald: Cooking Methods
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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.
Prior to the weigh-in, which takes place a day before fight night, they may dehydrate to lose the final bit of weight.
From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025
"To see nanoscale structures with standard electron microscopy, we fix and dehydrate the tissues, but freezing them retains their shape -- similar to freezing a grape rather than dehydrating it into a raisin," says Watanabe.
From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2024
Mehta recommends switching to a hydrating, more cream based, cleanser and also decreasing application of products such as retinoids, exfoliant, and vitamin C, which can dehydrate skin.
From National Geographic • Nov. 28, 2023
A moist environment is required as eggs lack a shell and thus dehydrate quickly in dry environments.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Constantly drenched in salt water, the men began to dehydrate.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
