51Թ

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View synonyms for

drought

Also drouth

[drout]

noun

  1. a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops.

  2. an extended shortage.

    a drought of good writing.

    Synonyms: , , , , ,
  3. Archaic.thirst.



drought

/ ʊ /

noun

  1. a prolonged period of scanty rainfall

  2. a prolonged shortage

  3. Archaic and Scot form: drouth.an archaic or dialect word for thirst

“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

drought

  1. A long period of abnormally low rainfall, lasting up to several years.

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Pronunciation Note

Drought and drouth, nouns derived from the adjective dry plus a suffix, are spellings that represent two phonetic developments of the same Old English word, and are pronounced and respectively. The latter pronunciation, therefore, is not a mispronunciation of drought. The now unproductive suffix -th1 and its alternate form -t were formerly used to derive nouns from adjectives or verbs, resulting in such pairs as drouth — drought from dry and highth—height (the former now obsolete) from high. In American English, drought with the pronunciation is common everywhere in educated speech, and is the usual printed form.
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • ˈdzܲٲ adjective
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of drought1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English ūٳ, equivalent to ū- (base of ̄ “dry”) + -ath noun suffix; cognate with Dutch droogte “dԱ”; dry, -th 1
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of drought1

Old English ūdzٳ; related to Dutch droogte; see dry
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Mr Hodder adds that there is a high population density in Mogadishu - people driven into the city by drought and conflict.

From

Yet the the tariff turmoil comes just as Spanish producers and exporters have recovered from a drought that slashed harvests in the south of the country, and sent prices temporarily soaring.

From

But experts say climate change has made erratic weather - such as unseasonal rains, flash floods and droughts linked to extreme heat - a more regular phenomenon, directly affecting millions of people.

From

He said by working together in this way, the agencies will have greater flexibility to meet future challenges together, whether related to drought, infrastructure investment or efforts to address chronic shortages along the Colorado River.

From

It was especially prevalent during the 1976-77 drought, when residents had to drain their pools and kids began performing elaborate airborne tricks.

From

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When To Use

What doesdrought mean?

A drought is a long period with no rain or unusually low levels of rain or other precipitation.Because weather and climate are different in different places throughout the world, there is no single definition of what counts as a drought. However, it always refers to a significant period of dry weather. Droughts have many harmful effects, including water shortages, crop failure, and in some cases famine, among other things. The word is often used in the phrase drought conditions, referring to very dry conditions resulting from a lack of rainfall.Drought can also be used in a figurative way to refer to an extended shortage of or long period without something, as in The city has the longest championship drought in all of sports. Example: The drought continued for more than three weeks and wildfires started to appear.

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ٰDzٱ-üǴڴdroughty