desiccate

Everyday

1. To desiccate something is to remove all the water from it so it becomes completely dry. tree →
2. Desiccated (adjective) means completely dried out; desiccated coconut is dried, shredded coconut for baking. tree →

In the lessons

In cooking, desiccated coconut goes into cakes and biscuits. In science, a desiccator dries chemicals, and little packets of silica gel desiccate new shoes and bags (safety: do not eat them). In nature, deserts and drought desiccate plants and soil.

Examples

• Sprinkle desiccated coconut on top of the cake. tree →
• The hot wind desiccated the crops. tree →
• Silica gel packets desiccate the air in a shoe box. tree →
• The desiccated leaves crumbled in my hand. tree →
• Egyptians desiccated bodies with salt to make mummies. tree →
• Drought desiccates the soil until it cracks. tree →

Note

Spelling trap: one s, two c's — desiccate. Regular verb. Noun: desiccation. The silica gel packets say «do not eat»: they are not food.