Definition of "drying-up" []

• The act of drying dishes after they have been washed up. (noun)

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• ""While gold might be enjoying some safe-haven buying, we warn that should the euro-zone debt crisis result in a drying-up of the region's money markets, all commodities will suffer, including gold," he said."
• "Ewald Nowotny, head of Austria's central bank, noted that the bank-recapitalization requirements could lead to a drying-up of new loans."
• "Nearly ten years later, another group of scientists studied the environmental changes in the northern Chad area during the past 6,000 years and came to the conclusion that the Sahara underwent a more progressive drying-up process."