Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

dry run

American  

noun

  1. a rehearsal or practice exercise.

  2. Military. practice in firing arms without using live ammunition.

dry run British  

noun

  1. military practice in weapon firing, a drill, or a manoeuvre without using live ammunition

  2. informal a trial or practice, esp in simulated conditions; rehearsal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
dry run Idioms  

  1. A trial exercise or rehearsal, as in Regard this as a dry run for tonight's ceremony. This term, using dry in the sense of “unproductive,” was at first employed mainly in the military for simulated bombings in which no bombs were dropped. [c. 1940]

Other Word Forms

  • dry-run adjective

Etymology

Origin of dry run

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45

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.

But only a few of his movies carried much of a political message, notably his 1995 film “The American President,” written by Mr. Sorkin and a sort of dry run for his “The West Wing.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

Danni Wyatt is suffering a dry run with the bat - she's failed to score more than 21 in her last 10 international innings, and not scored more than six in her last four.

From BBC • May 18, 2024

The PGA Awards are often considered a dry run for the Oscars’ best picture race since the guild shares significant member overlap with the academy and uses the same preferential ballot to pick its winner.

From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2024

During these exercises, experts walk organization leadership and IT teams through a dry run of a breach, prompting them with questions.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 25, 2024

“We were hoping to see exactly where Paul will be going next week. He has problems with his eyesight—he’s legally blind—so we were hoping to make a dry run today.”

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor

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.