dry wash

noun

A riverbed that is often dry and that contains water only during rainy periods.

“Near-synonyms: arroyo, wadi, nahal (synonymous other than regiolectal specificity)”

Similar
washarroyowadinahal
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Meanings

noundry wash (plural dry washes)

plural dry washes

  1. A riverbed that is often dry and that contains water only during rainy periods.

    Near-synonyms: arroyo, wadi, nahal (synonymous other than regiolectal specificity)

    Synonyms: wash, arroyo, wadi, nahal

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA riverbed that is often dry and that contains water only during rainy periods.

Similar
washarroyowadinahal

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe dry bed of an intermittent stream (as at the bottom of a canyon)

Similar
wash
Broader
streambedcreek bed
Also see
wadiwash

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

dry wash. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dry%20wash

MLA

“dry wash.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dry%20wash. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dry wash,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dry%20wash.

Source: dry wash on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.