What does dehumidify mean?
Dehumidify means to remove moisture from the air or from an enclosed space, usually by reducing its relative humidity. The word is especially common in discussions of homes, warehouses, museums, and other places where excess moisture can cause discomfort, condensation, mold, mildew, or damage to stored materials. It is often used with technical systems, such as refrigeration equipment, air-conditioning units, and portable dehumidifiers, but it is equally understandable in everyday household contexts. Dehumidifying a room can make it feel more comfortable and help protect walls, fabrics, books, and food. Although “dry” is a broader synonym, “dehumidify” identifies the specific removal of moisture from the surrounding air rather than merely making an object dry. The related noun “dehumidifier” names a device designed to perform this function, while “dehumidification” names the process itself.
verbTo remove moisture from the air or from a material, especially by lowering its relative humidity. It is commonly used of rooms, buildings, stored goods, and industrial spaces.
- To remove moisture from air, a room, building, material, or enclosed space, especially by reducing relative humidity.
"Running a dehumidifier in the basement helped dehumidify the space and prevent mold growth."
"The hotel dehumidifies each room before guests arrive."
"The system uses a cold coil to dehumidify the air supplied to the warehouse."
A dehumidifier can do more than improve comfort: by reducing excess moisture, it can also help prevent mold and mildew.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does dehumidify come from?
Dehumidify is a modern English formation combining the prefix de-, meaning removal or reversal, with humid and the suffix -ify, meaning to make or cause to become. The adjective humid comes ultimately from Latin humidus, related to humus, “earth,” through the idea of moisture or wetness. Related English forms include humidity, humidify, and humidifier; the opposite process, humidify, uses the same underlying Latin root.
Related word forms
How dehumidify is actually used
The word is most common in household, commercial, and industrial contexts. It is usually transitive, taking the air, a room, a building, or another space as its object; as an intransitive process, it is often expressed in the passive, as in “the basement is dehumidified.”
Easily confused with dehumidify
Dehumidify means to remove moisture from air or a space, whereas humidify means to add moisture to it.