stay-dry

adjective

Of a fabric, permeable (referring to a material that allows liquid to wick through).

Meanings

adjectivestay-dry (not comparable)

alternative stay dry

  1. not comparableOf a fabric, permeable (referring to a material that allows liquid to wick through).

    Pampers keep baby bottoms drier because they have a special stay-dry lining next to baby's skin. Moisture goes through it and is trapped in the absorbent layers below.

    1971 December 17, Procter & Gamble, “[Advertisement]”, in Thomas Griffith, editor, Life, Children Special Double Issue edition, page 69
    2 more examples

    Disposable bed and chair pads are also available to protect furniture. A range of reusable products is also available. These usually have an absorbent layer sandwiched between a stay-dry layer and a waterproof layer to prevent leaking.

    2009, Gabrielle Koutoukidis, Kate Stainton, editor, Tabbner's Nursing Care: Theory and Practice, Elsevier Australia, →ISBN, page 539

    Microfleece works well for reusable liners, suede cloth polyesters for a stay-dry layer on inserts, polyurethane laminate for water resistant covers and shells, microfiber inserts absorb quickly and dry quick, viscose/rayon made from bamboo absorbs a lot of liquid.

    2019 November 11, Samantha Early, quoting Anastasia Michailov, “Microplastics from nappy washing”, in DW

Origin

Contraction of stay + dry, because the material does not absorb any liquid.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“stay-dry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stay-dry. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

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

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