drought
/dɹaʊt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.90 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A period of unusually low rainfall, longer and more severe than a dry spell.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A longer than expected term without success, particularly in sport.
Countable; Informal; Uncountable
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "His village had faced a drought twice."
- "The weather looked like drought―a thoroughly wicked drought; if the rain did not come before long, their crops would be burnt up."
- "Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force."
- "Sri Lanka ended their ten-game drought with a consolation win over Bangladesh."
- "Kane had been going through something of a drought by his own standards. His previous England goal came 500 days ago, in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Kosovo, and his header in Tirana ended a run of 496 minutes without scoring."
- "Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes."
Etymology
From Middle English droughte, droghte, drouȝte, from Old English drūgaþ. Cognate with Dutch droogte, Low German Dröögde. By surface analysis, dry + -t (abstract nominal suffix).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: droughte, drūgaþ