- extremely or completely dried, as by heat, sun, or wind: Dry shrubs cover parts of this parched valley in the South Hebron Hills.
- very thirsty: After each shift in the ship’s engine room, I was dead tired and totally parched, needing large amounts of water.
- (of peas, beans, grains, etc.) slightly toasted or roasted: The village folk customarily have one meal a day of parched grains, so there is always a crowd around the old widow’s oven.
- the simple past tense and past participle of parch.
