423
dubious
surface; not wet, sticky, or MOIST: Don't put your shirt on until
it's dry. | The soil is too dry for planting vegetables. | The paint
isn't dry yet – be careful! | The well has gone dry. | dry skin
(=without natural liquids) | The kettle boiled dry. (=boiled
until there was no water left) 2 without rain or wetness;
lacking HUMIDITY: a dry climate | a dry month | dry heat →
compare HUMID 3 having or producing thirst: I always feel
dry in this hot weather. | It's dry work digging in the
sun. 4 [A] (especially of bread) eaten without butter, JAM etc:
dry toast 5 without tears or other liquid substances from the
body: dry-eyed (=not crying) | a dry cough | By the end of the
play, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. (=everyone was
crying) 6 (of alcoholic drinks, especially wine) not sweet;
not fruity in taste: dry sherry | dry white wine 7 no longer
giving milk: a dry cow 8 not allowing the sale of alcoholic
drink: There are still some dry states in the US. 9 amusing
without appearing to be so; quietly IRONIC: I like his dry
humour. 10 dull and uninteresting: The book was as dry as
dust. (=very dull) 11 BrE infml of or being a Conservative
politician who has UNCOMPROMISING views → compare
WET² 12 (as) dry as a bone infml perfectly dry; BONE-DRY →
see also DRI-DRY, home and dry (HOME²) →dryly, drily adv
→ness n [U]
dry² v 1 [I;T(OUT, UP, OFF)] to make or become dry: Dry your
hands. | Hang out the washing to dry. | The clothes will soon
dry (out) in the sun. | to dry (up) the dishes | The swimmer
dried off in the hot sun. | She ran in after the rainstorm and
dried herself off with a thick towel. 2 [T] to preserve (especially food) by removing liquid: dried fruit/milk | dried
flowers → see also CUT-AND-DRIED
dry out phr v [I;T(= dry sbdy. out)] 1 to (cause to) give up
dependence on alcoholic drink 2 to (cause to) become
completely dry
dry up phr v 1 [I;T(= dry sthg. ⇔ up)] to (cause to) become
completely dry: During the drought the reservoirs dried up. |
a dried-up river bed 2 [I] (of a supply of something) to come
to an end: Our sources of information have dried
up. 3 [I] a) [usually imperative] slang to stop talking or writing,
or be quiet, usually because one has forgotten what one has
to say next or cannot think of anything to say b) infml to
forget one's words when acting in a play: He dried up three
times in the second act.
dry-ad /'draɪæd/ n a female spirit in ancient Greek stories who
lived in a tree; wood NYMPH → compare OREAD
'dry ,battery also 'dry cell n an electric BATTERY containing
chemicals which are not in a liquid form
dry-'clean v [T] to clean (clothes, material etc) with chemi-
cals instead of water
dry 'cleaner's n a shop where clothes, curtains etc, can be
taken to be dry-cleaned
Dry-den, John /'draɪdn/ (1631-1700) an English writer of
poetry and plays. His many plays include Marriage à la Mode
and All for Love.
'dry dock n a place in which a ship is held in position while
the water is pumped out, leaving the ship dry for repairs:
The ship is in dry dock being painted.
dry-er, drier /'draɪəʳ/ n (often in comb.) a machine that dries: a
hairdryer
dry-eyed adj (of a person) not having tears in the eyes; not
crying
'dry goods n [P] 1 BrE goods such as tobacco, drugs, tea,
coffee, dried fruits etc 2 AmE goods such as clothing, cloth,
sheets, curtains, and other things made from cloth: a dry
goods store/department
dry 'ice n [U] CARBON DIOXIDE in a solid state, used mainly to
keep food and other things cold
dry 'land n [U] land as opposed to water: After three weeks at
sea we were glad to get onto dry land again.
dry mar'tini n [C;U] a (glass of an) alcoholic drink made from
GIN and dry VERMOUTH
CULTURAL NOTE
A dry martini is famous especially for
being the favourite drink of James Bond, who would
always ask for 'a dry martini, shaken, not stirred'.
dry-'roasted adj (of nuts) cooked without any oil
dry 'rot n [U] diseased growth in wood, e.g. in wooden floors,
which turns wood into powder
dry 'run n infml a practice exercise before the actual event:
Shall we do a dry run of the presentation? | Both the parties
are treating the local elections as a dry run for the general
election.
dry-stone 'wall n a stone wall built without MORTAR
DSc /ˌdiː es 'siː/ n Doctor of Science; a high-level university
degree in a science subject, which is often given as an
HONORARY degree (=as a special honour)
DSS, the /ˌdiː es 'es/ abbrev. for the Department of Social
Security; a former British government department
DT /ˌdiː 'tiː/ n [U] BrE abbrev. for Design and Technology; a
practical subject studied in British schools and colleges
DTI, the /ˌdiː tiː 'aɪ/ abbrev. for Department of Trade and
Industry; a British government department whose aim is to
encourage business and industry in the UK and to help
British companies sell goods and services to other countries.
The head of the DTI is called the President of the Board of
Trade.
DTP /ˌdiː tiː 'piː/ n [U] abbrev. for DESKTOP PUBLISHING; the
production of books, newspapers etc using computers
DT's, the /ˌdiː 'tiz/ n [P] infml, spoken abbrev. for delirium
tremens; a medical condition in which your body shakes
and you see things that are not there because you have
drunk too much alcohol over a long period
du-al /'djuːəl||'duːəl/ adj [A] consisting of two separate parts
or having two parts like each other; double: a training
aircraft/a driving instructor's car with dual controls | a
dual-purpose instrument | the government's dual aim of
cutting taxes and increasing job opportunities →-ity
/djuː'ælɪti||duː-/ n [U]
dual 'carriageway BrE || divided highway AmE — n a
main road on which the traffic travelling in opposite direc-
tions is kept apart by a central band or separation
dual 'citizenship n [U] the state of being a citizen of two
countries: She got dual citizenship last year and now holds a
Swiss and a British passport.
du·al·is·m /'djuːəlɪzəm||'duː-/ n [U] tech the idea that there
are two opposite parts or principles in everything, for
example body and soul, or the state of having two parts or
principles
dub¹ /dʌb/ v -bb- [T+obj+n] 1 (especially in newspapers) to
name humorously or descriptively: a period of strikes and
labour troubles, which the papers dubbed 'the winter of dis-
content' 2 lit or old use (of a king or queen) to make (someone)
a KNIGHT
CULTURAL NOTE
This happens in a special CEREMONY in
which the king or queen touches a man on the shoulder
with a sword and gives him the title 'Sir' before his name.
The man who is being dubbed kneels for the ceremony.
At the end the king/queen says 'Arise/Rise Sir ...'. This
ceremony is known from stories from the MIDDLE AGES
and is still used regularly in Britain when men are given
national honours.
dub² v [T] 1 (into) to change the original spoken language of
(a film, radio show, or television show): a Swedish film
dubbed into English | Is it dubbed or does it have subti-
tles? 2 especially BrE to make a record out of two or more
different pieces of music or sounds mixed together
dub³ n [U] a West Indian style of poetry spoken to the RHYTHM
of REGGAE music: a dub poet
Du-bai /duː'baɪ/ a state on the Persian Gulf, part of the
United Arab Emirates
dub-bin /'dʌbɪn/ n [U] a thick oily substance used for
making leather softer and to stop water going through it
Dub-ček, Al-ex-an-der /'dubtʃek, ˌælɪg'zɑːndər il-'zæn-/
(1921-92) a Czech politician who was the leader of the
Communist Party from 1968 to 1969. He made political
changes that gave people in Czechoslovakia more freedom,
and this period was called the PRAGUE SPRING. It ended
when the SOVIET government sent its army to take control of
the country.
du-bi-e-ty /djuː'baəti||duː-/ n [U] fml uncertainty or doubt;
dubiousness
du-bi-ous /'djuːbiəs||'duː-/ adj 1 [(about)] feeling doubt;
undecided or uncertain: I'm still dubious about lending Jim