a dry county is a county in the united states whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. dozens of dry counties exist across the united states, a majority of them in the south. a number of smaller jurisdictions also exist, such as cities, towns, and townships, which prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages. these are known as dry cities, dry towns, or dry townships. dry jurisdictions can be contrasted with "wet" (minimal alcohol prohibitions) and "moist" (fewer prohibitions than "dry" but more than "wet").