Xerophilic is a term that describes an organism or structure that is adapted to tolerate or thrive in dry and arid conditions. Synonyms for xerophilic include drought-tolerant, water-stressed, desiccated, and arid-adapted. Xerophilic organisms have evolved a variety of strategies to survive in water-limited environments, such as maintaining low water content in their cells, producing protective sugars or proteins, reducing their metabolic rate, or simply going dormant until water becomes available again. The xerophilic traits of plants and animals are of great interest to scientists seeking to understand how life adapts to changing environments and how we can develop more resilient crops and ecosystems.