From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdry up phrasal verb1 come to an endFINISH/COME TO AN END if a supply of something dries up, it comes to an end and no more is available Foreign investment may dry up. The work soon dried up.2 river/lake etcDNDRY if something such as a river dries up, the water in it disappears Across central and west Texas, waterholes and wells have dried up.dry something ↔ up Taking too much water for household use is drying up the river.3 stop talkingFORGET if someone dries up, they stop talking ‘It was -’ She dried up again. Everyone became embarrassed and conversation dried up.4 plates/dishes etc British EnglishDF to rub plates, dishes etc dry with a cloth after they have been washeddry something ↔ up I’ll just dry up these mugs and we can have a coffee. → dry→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
dry up• The town's reservoir has nearly dried up and many homes are without water.• Last summer the river dried up and you could walk right across it.• Lake Elizabeth will not dry up, but its water level could drop.• There was one worrying moment where one of the actors seemed to dry up for a few seconds.• I dried up just as I was about to talk, even though I had been preparing the speech for weeks.From Longman Business Dictionarydry up phrasal verb [intransitive] to no longer be available or activeThere are fears that investment could dry up.Sales could dry up if this trend continues. → dry→ See Verb table 