to apply water or some other liquid to (something or someone) for the purpose of cleansing; cleanse by dipping, rubbing, or scrubbing in water or some other liquid.
2.
to remove (dirt, stains, paint, or any matter) by or as by the action of water (usually fol. by out, off, etc.): to wash grime out of clothing.
3.
to free from spiritual defilement or from sin, guilt, etc.: to be washed whiter than the snow.
4.
to bathe, wet, or moisten with water or other liquid: a meadow newly washed with morning dew.
5.
to flow through, over, or against: a shore or cliff washed by waves.
6.
to carry, bring, remove, or deposit (something) by means of water or any liquid, or as the water or liquid does (often fol. by up, down, or along): The storm washed the boat up on the shore. A sailor was washed overboard.
7.
to wear or diminish, as water does by flowing over or against a surface (often fol. by out or away): The rain had washed away the lettering on the stone.
8.
(of water) to form by flowing over and eroding a surface: The flood had washed a new channel through the bottom lands.
9.
Mining.
a.
to subject (earth or ore) to the action or force of water in order to separate valuable material.
b.
to separate (valuable material) in this way.
10.
to purify (a gas or gaseous mixture) by passage through or over a liquid.
11.
to cover with a watery or thin coat of color.
12.
to overlay with a thin coat or deposit of metal: to wash brass with gold.
to wash oneself: After using the insecticide spray they washed completely.
15.
to wash clothes: Monday is the day we wash.
16.
to cleanse anything with or in water or other liquid.
17.
to undergo washing without injury, esp. shrinking or fading: fabrics guaranteed to wash.
18.
Informal. to be found true, valid, or real when tested or closely scrutinized; stand being put to the proof: His honesty won't wash.
19.
to be carried or driven by water (often fol. by along or ashore): The boat had washed ashore in the night.
20.
to flow or beat with a lapping sound, as waves on a shore.
21.
to move along in or as in waves, or with a rushing movement, as water.
22.
to be eroded, as by a stream or by rainfall: a hillside that washes frequently.
23.
to be removed by the action of water (often fol. by away): Much of the topsoil washes away each spring.
–noun
24.
the act or process of washing with water or other liquid: to give the car a wash.
25.
a quantity of clothes, linens, etc., washed, or to be washed, at one time: a heavy wash.
26.
a liquid with which something is washed, wetted, colored, overspread, etc.: She gave the room a wash of pale blue.
27.
the flow, sweep, dash, or breaking of water: The wash of the waves had drenched us.
28.
the sound made by this: listening to the wash of the Atlantic.
29.
water moving along in waves or with a rushing movement: the wash of the incoming tide.
30.
the rough or broken water left behind a moving ship, boat, etc.; wake: The little boats tossed about in the wash from the liner's propellers.
31.
Aeronautics. the disturbance in the air left behind by a moving airplane or any of its parts: wing wash.
32.
any of various liquids for grooming or cosmetic purposes: a hair wash.
33.
a lotion or other liquid having medicinal properties, as an antiseptic solution or the like (often used in combination): to apply wash to a skinned knee; mouthwash; eyewash.
34.
Mining. minerals from which valuable material can be extracted by washing.
35.
the wearing away of the shore by breaking waves.
36.
a tract of land washed by the action of the sea or a river.
37.
a marsh, fen, or bog.
38.
a small stream or shallow pool.
39.
a shallow arm of the sea or a shallow part of a river.
40.
a depression or channel formed by flowing water.
41.
Geology. alluvial matter transferred and deposited by flowing water.
42.
Also called dry wash.Western U.S.the dry bed of an intermittent stream.
43.
a broad, thin layer of color applied by a continuous movement of the brush, as in water-color painting.
Origin: bef. 900; ME washen (v.), OE wascan (c. D wasschen, G waschen, ON vaska) < Gmc *watskan, equiv. to *wat- (root of water) + *-sk- v. suffix + *-an inf. suffix
To cleanse, using water or other liquid, usually with soap, detergent, or bleach, by immersing, dipping, rubbing, or scrubbing: wash one's hands; wash windows.
To soak, rinse out, and remove (dirt or stain) with or as if with water: wash grease out of overalls.
To purify (a gas) by passing through or over a liquid, as to remove soluble matter.
To pass a solvent, such as distilled water, through (a precipitate).
To make moist or wet; drench: Tears washed the child's cheeks.
To flow over, against, or past: waves that washed the sandy shores.
To carry, erode, remove, or destroy by the action of moving water: Heavy rains washed the topsoil away.
To rid of corruption or guilt; cleanse or purify: wash sins away.
To cover or coat with a watery layer of paint or other coloring substance.
Chemistry
To purify (a gas) by passing through or over a liquid, as to remove soluble matter.
To pass a solvent, such as distilled water, through (a precipitate).
To separate constituents of (an ore) by immersion in or agitation with water.
To cause to undergo a swirling action: washed the tea around in the cup.
v.
intr.
To cleanse something in or by means of water or other liquid.
To undergo washing without fading or other damage: This fabric will wash.
Informal To hold up under examination; be convincing: "That [proclamation], of course, will not wash"(John Hughes).
To flow, sweep, or beat with a characteristic lapping sound: Waves washed over the pilings.
To be carried away, removed, or drawn by the action of water.
n.
The act or process of washing or cleansing.
A quantity of articles washed or intended for washing: The wash is on the back porch.
Waste liquid; swill.
Fermented liquid from which liquor is distilled.
A preparation or product used in washing or coating.
A cosmetic or medicinal liquid, such as a mouthwash.
A thin layer of watercolor or India ink spread on a drawing.
A light tint or hue: "a wash of red sunset"(Thomas Pynchon).
A rush or surge of water or waves.
The sound of this rush or surge.
Removal or erosion of soil by the action of moving water.
A deposit of recently eroded debris.
Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters.
A stretch of shallow water.
A rush or surge of water or waves.
The sound of this rush or surge.
Removal or erosion of soil by the action of moving water.
A deposit of recently eroded debris.
Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters.
A stretch of shallow water.
Removal or erosion of soil by the action of moving water.
A deposit of recently eroded debris.
Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters.
A stretch of shallow water.
Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters.
A stretch of shallow water.
Western U.S. The dry bed of a stream.
Turbulence in air or water caused by the motion or action of an oar, propeller, jet, or airfoil.
Informal An activity, action, or enterprise that yields neither marked gain nor marked loss: "[The company] doesn't do badly. That is, it's a wash"(Harper's).
adj.
Used for washing.
Being such that washing is possible; washable.
To clean by washing with water from top to bottom: wash down the walls.
To follow the ingestion of (food, for example) with the ingestion of a liquid: washed the cake down with coffee.
To remove or be removed by washing.
To cause to fade by laundering: color that had been washed out by bleach.
To carry or wear away or be carried or worn away by the action of moving water: The river rose and washed out the dam. The road has washed out five miles down the mountain.
To deplete or become depleted of vitality: By evening, I was washed out from overwork.
To eliminate or be eliminated as unsatisfactory: a football player who was washed out; an officer candidate who washed out after one month.
To cause (an event) to be rained out.
To wash one's hands.
Chiefly British To wash dishes after a meal.
To burn out; exhaust: all washed up as a politician.
Phrasal Verb(s): wash down
To clean by washing with water from top to bottom: wash down the walls.
To follow the ingestion of (food, for example) with the ingestion of a liquid: washed the cake down with coffee.
wash out
To remove or be removed by washing.
To cause to fade by laundering: color that had been washed out by bleach.
To carry or wear away or be carried or worn away by the action of moving water: The river rose and washed out the dam. The road has washed out five miles down the mountain.
To deplete or become depleted of vitality: By evening, I was washed out from overwork.
To eliminate or be eliminated as unsatisfactory: a football player who was washed out; an officer candidate who washed out after one month.
To cause (an event) to be rained out.
wash up
To wash one's hands.
Chiefly British To wash dishes after a meal.
To burn out; exhaust: all washed up as a politician.
Idiom(s):
come out in the wash Slang
To be revealed eventually: The real reasons for her resignation will come out in the wash.
To turn out well in the end: Don't worry: this project will come out in the wash.
Idiom(s):
wash (one's) hands of
To refuse to accept responsibility for.
To abandon; renounce.
[Middle English washen, from Old English wacsan, wæscan; see wed-1 in Indo-European roots.]
in. to be believed. (As if untruth were a stain that will not come out in the wash.) : That'll never wash! It's totally unbelievable.
n. a drink that follows a previous drink; a chaser. : Can I have a wash with this, bartender?
n. the almost simultaneous sale and purchase of the same stock, usually to make the stock appear to be trading actively. (Securities markets. The practice is illegal. Tax loss selling must be done in such a way to avoid appearing to be a wash.) : I sold the stock and couldn't buy it back for thirty days to avoid an illegal wash.
n. a whitewash or covering up (of a problem). : What the administration presented was not an explanation but a wash.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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wash out
in. to fail and be removed from something, such as school. (See also washout.) : I don't want to wash out. It's my whole future.
in. to have a serious wreck; to wipe out. : The vehicles have a tendency to wash out when cornering.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
washout
n. a failure; a fiasco. : The whole project was a washout. A lost cause from beginning to end.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History
wash (n.)
late O.E. wæsc "act of washing" (see wash (v.)). Meaning "clothes set aside to be washed" is attested from 1789; meaning "thin coat of paint" is recorded from 1698; sense of "land alternately covered and exposed by the sea" is recorded from c.1440.
Main Entry: 2wash Function: noun : a liquid medicinal preparation used especially for cleansing or antisepsis —see EYEWASH, MOUTHWASH
Main Entry: wash·out Pronunciation: 'wosh-"aut, 'wäsh- Function: noun : the action or process of progressively reducing the concentration of asubstance (as a dye injected into the left ventricle of the heart)
Remove or be removed by washing; also, cause to fade by laundering. For example, Give it to me; I'll wash out that stain, or The bleach has really washed out that bright print. [Mid-1700s]
Wear away or be worn away by the flow of water, as in The river rose and washed out the dam, or The road has completely washed out. [Mid-1700s]
Deplete or be depleted of energy, as in Working on her feet all day just washed her out, or I just washed out after that long tennis match. [Mid-1800s]
Eliminate or be eliminated as unsatisfactory, as in He washed out of medical school after just one year, or After only two months as chairman I washed out. [Colloquial; early 1900s]
Cancel owing to bad weather, as in The picnic was washed out. [Colloquial; early 1900s] Also see washed out.
[wosh-out, wawsh-] 
