Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dry spell

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.21 in modern English

Syllables: dry spell
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A drawn-out period where the weather has been dry, for an abnormally long time; shorter and not as severe as a drought.

noun

A period or time where there is little activity, productivity, low income etc.

noun

A period of time without sexual intercourse.

Example Sentences

"Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell / Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high"
"The rains, it seemed, were over, and a dry spell was upon them […]"
"The only place unaffected by the persistent dry spell was the city of Milwaukee […]"
"The first type is of course the dry spell when you can't think of any ideas. The second type is when kids just have a dry spell in writing."
"There's no telling when the serial dating bug can strike. You may be just getting out of a serious relationship, marriage, or long dry spell. But one thing's for certain: when it does it can become a really hard habit to break."

Etymology

Originated around 1885–1890, from dry + spell (“a period of time”). Compare cold spell.

Inflected Forms

dry spells (plural)

Phrases

dry speller

Frequently Paired Words

petrichor

Questions

What does dry spell mean?: A drawn-out period where the weather has been dry, for an abnormally long time; shorter and not as severe as a drought.
Where does dry spell come from?: Originated around 1885–1890, from dry + spell (“a period of time”). Compare cold spell.

How to pronounce dry spell

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dry spell”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “dry spell”.
Repeat and practice — Say “dry spell” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.