Words / B2

deeh-y-DRAYT/ˌdiːhaɪˈdreɪt/

To dehydrate is to lose or remove water from a body or a substance: dehydrate the sample; become dehydrated. Dry is everyday; desiccate is the lab twin; rehydrate is the reverse. Dehydrate the sample in the practical, then record the mass loss. Mix-up: dehydrate vs hydrate; hydrogen; do not write dehydrate for a sports-drink slogan with no mass or urine-colour scale in the source.

Meaning

To lose or remove water from a body or a substance.

Examples

• “Dehydrate the sample in the practical, then record the mass loss, not a sports-drink slogan.”
• “The casualty was dehydrated in the first-aid paper, which is the body-water sense — still name the signs.”

Good to know

dehydrate a sample; become dehydrated; dehydration. Reverse: rehydrate. Lab twin: desiccate. Trap: hydrate. Biology, food science, and PE. Remove or lose water — record the mass or the clinical signs.

Near in meaning

desiccate, dry, evaporate

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