• synonyms


or wash-up

[wosh-uhp, wawsh-]
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  1. an act of washing: Allow five minutes for washup.
  2. a place, as a bathroom, for washing.

Origin of washup

First recorded in 1865–70; noun use of verb phrase wash up


[wosh, wawsh]
verb (used with object)
  1. 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 followed by out, off, etc.): to wash grime out of clothing.
  6. to carry, bring, remove, or deposit (something) by means of water or any liquid, or as the water or liquid does (often followed 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 followed by out or away): The rain had washed away the lettering on the stone.
  9. Mining.
    2. to separate (valuable material) in this way.
  11. to cover with a watery or thin coat of color.
  13. Slang. launder(def 3).
verb (used without object)
  4. to undergo washing without injury, especially shrinking or fading: fabrics guaranteed to wash.
  5. Informal. to be found true, valid, or real when tested or closely scrutinized; stand being put to the proof: His honesty won't wash.
  6. to be carried or driven by water (often followed by along or ashore): The boat had washed ashore in the night.
  10. to be removed by the action of water (often followed by away): Much of the topsoil washes away each spring.
  7. 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.
  8. Aeronautics. the disturbance in the air left behind by a moving airplane or any of its parts: wing wash.
  11. Mining. minerals from which valuable material can be extracted by washing.
  12. the wearing away of the shore by breaking waves.
  14. a marsh, fen, or bog.
  15. a small stream or shallow pool.
  17. a depression or channel formed by flowing water.
  18. Geology. alluvial matter transferred and deposited by flowing water.
  19. Also called dry wash. Western U.S. the dry bed of an intermittent stream.
  21. Also called watershed, weathering. Architecture.
    1. an upper surface so inclined as to shed rain water from a building.
    2. any member of a building having such a surface.
  22. Metalworking. Also washing. a thin coat of metal applied in liquid form: a gold wash.
  23. waste liquid matter, refuse, food, etc., from the kitchen, as for hogs; swill (often used in combination): hogwash.
  24. washy or weak liquor or liquid food.
  26. Informal. an action that yields neither gain nor loss: The company's financial position is a wash compared with last year.
  1. capable of being washed without shrinking, fading, etc.; washable: a wash dress.
Verb Phrases
  1. wash down,
    1. to clean completely by washing: to wash down a car.
  2. wash out,
    1. to be removed by washing: The stain wouldn't wash out.
    2. to damage or demolish by the action of water: The embankment was washed out by the storm.
    3. Informal.to fail to qualify or continue; be eliminated: to wash out of graduate school.
    4. to become dim, indistinct, or blurred: The face of the watch washes out in sunlight.
  3. wash up,
    1. to wash one's face and hands: Aren't you going to wash up? Dinner is almost ready.
    3. to end, especially ignominiously (usually in the passive): After that performance, he's all washed up as a singer.
  1. come out in the wash,
    1. to have a good or satisfactory result; turn out eventually: The situation may look hopeless now, but it will all come out in the wash.
    2. to be revealed; become known.
  2. wash one's hands of. hand(def 90).

Origin of wash

before 900; Middle English washen (v.), Old English wascan (cognate with Dutch wasschen, German waschen, Old Norse vaska) < Germanic *watskan, equivalent to *wat- (root of water) + *-sk- v. suffix + *-an infinitive suffix
Related formspre·wash, noun, verb (used with object)re·wash, verbun·der·wash, verbwell-washed, adjective


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1. clean, lave, rinse, launder, mop, swab. 4. bedew. 5. bathe. 24. ablution, cleansing, bathing. 37. swamp, morass.
British Dictionary definitions for wash up

wash up

verb (adverb)
  1. mainly British to wash (dishes, cutlery, etc) after a meal
  2. (intr) US to wash one's face and hands
noun washup
  1. Australian the end, outcome of a processin the washup, three candidates were elected


  1. the Wash a shallow inlet of the North Sea on the E coast of England, between Lincolnshire and Norfolk


  1. to apply water or other liquid, usually with soap, to (oneself, clothes, etc) in order to cleanse
  2. (tr; often foll by away, from, off, etc) to remove by the application of water or other liquid and usually soapshe washed the dirt from her clothes
  3. (intr) to be capable of being washed without damage or loss of colour
  4. (of an animal such as a cat) to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking
  5. (tr) to cleanse from pollution or defilement
  6. (tr) to make wet or moist
  7. (often foll by away, etc) to move or be moved by waterthe flood washed away the bridge
  8. (esp of waves) to flow or sweep against or over (a surface or object), often with a lapping sound
  9. to form by erosion or be erodedthe stream washed a ravine in the hill
  10. (tr) to apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc, to
  11. (tr) to separate (ore, precious stones, etc) from (gravel, earth, or sand) by immersion in water
  12. (intr; usually used with a negative) informal, mainly British to admit of testing or proofyour excuses won't wash with me this time
  13. wash one's hands
    1. euphemisticto go to the lavatory
    2. (usually foll by of)to refuse to have anything more to do (with)
  1. the act or process of washing; ablution
  2. a quantity of articles washed together
  3. a preparation or thin liquid used as a coating or in washinga thin wash of paint; a hair wash
  4. med
    1. any medicinal or soothing lotion for application to a part of the body
    2. (in combination)an eyewash
  5. the flow of water, esp waves, against a surface, or the sound made by such a flow
    1. the technique of making wash drawings
    2. See wash drawing
  6. the erosion of soil by the action of flowing water
  7. a mass of alluvial material transported and deposited by flowing water
  8. land that is habitually washed by tidal or river waters
  9. the disturbance in the air or water produced at the rear of an aircraft, boat, or other moving object
  10. gravel, earth, etc, from which valuable minerals may be washed
  11. waste liquid matter or liquid refuse, esp as fed to pigs; swill
  12. an alcoholic liquid resembling strong beer, resulting from the fermentation of wort in the production of whisky
  13. come out in the wash informal to become known or apparent in the course of time

Word Origin

Old English wæscan, waxan; related to Old High German wascan; see water

Word Origin and History for wash up



late Old English 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 1690s; sense of "land alternately covered and exposed by the sea" is recorded from mid-15c.



Old English wascan, wæscan, from Proto-Germanic *watskanan (cf. Old Norse vaska, Middle Dutch wasscen, Dutch wassen, German waschen), from stem *wat-, the source of water. Related: Washed; washing. Used mainly of clothes in Old English (the principal verb for washing the body, dishes, etc. being þwean). Washed-out "faded" is from 1837. Washed up is 1923 theater slang, from notion of washing up at the end of a job.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

wash up in Medicine


  1. To cleanse, using water or other liquid, usually with soap, detergent, or bleach, by immersing, dipping, rubbing, or scrubbing.
  2. To make moist or wet.
  1. The act or process of cleansing or washing.
  2. A solution used to cleanse or bathe a part.

Idioms and Phrases with wash up

wash up


Wash one's hands and face, as in It's time to wash up for dinner. [First half of 1900s] Also see clean up, def. 2.


Clean the utensils after a meal, as in I'll cook dinner if you promise to wash up. [Mid-1700s] Also see do the dishes.


Bring about the end or ruin of; finish. This usage is often used put in the passive, be washed up, as in She's all washed up as a singer. [Colloquial; early 1900s]


In addition to the idioms beginning with wash

also see:
