washed out


[wosht-out, wawsht-]


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[wosh, wawsh]
verb (used with object)
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.
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.
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.
to separate (valuable material) in this way.
to cover with a watery or thin coat of color.
Slang. launder ( def 3 ).
verb (used without object)
to wash clothes: Monday is the day we wash.
to cleanse anything with or in water or other liquid.
Informal. to be found true, valid, or real when tested or closely scrutinized; stand being put to the proof: His honesty won't wash.
to be carried or driven by water (often followed by along or ashore ): The boat had washed ashore in the night.
to be removed by the action of water (often followed by away ): Much of the topsoil washes away each spring.
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.
the wearing away of the shore by breaking waves.
a marsh, fen, or bog.
a small stream or shallow pool.
a depression or channel formed by flowing water.
Geology. alluvial matter transferred and deposited by flowing water.
Also called watershed, weathering. Architecture.
any member of a building having such a surface.
Metalworking.. Also, washing. a thin coat of metal applied in liquid form: a gold wash.
washy or weak liquor or liquid food.
the fermented wort from which the spirit is extracted in distilling.
capable of being washed without shrinking, fading, etc.; washable: a wash dress.
Verb phrases
wash down,
to clean completely by washing: to wash down a car.
wash out,
to be removed by washing: The stain wouldn't wash out.
Informal. to fail to qualify or continue; be eliminated: to wash out of graduate school.
wash up,
to end, especially ignominiously (usually in the passive): After that performance, he's all washed up as a singer.
come out in the wash,
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.
to be revealed; become known.
wash one's hands of. hand ( def 90 ).

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

prewash, noun, verb (used with object)
rewash, verb
underwash, verb
well-washed, adjective

1. clean, lave, rinse, launder, mop, swab. 4. bedew. 5. bathe. 24. ablution, cleansing, bathing. 37. swamp, morass.
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World English Dictionary
wash (wɒʃ)
vb (often foll by away, etc)
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 soap: she 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.  to move or be moved by water: the 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 eroded: the 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.  informal chiefly (Brit) (intr; usually used with a negative) to admit of testing or proof: your excuses won't wash with me this time
13.  wash one's hands
 a.  euphemistic to go to the lavatory
 b.  (usually foll by of) to refuse to have anything more to do (with)
14.  the act or process of washing; ablution
15.  a quantity of articles washed together
16.  a preparation or thin liquid used as a coating or in washing: a thin wash of paint; a hair wash
17.  med
 a.  any medicinal or soothing lotion for application to a part of the body
 b.  (in combination): an eyewash
18.  the flow of water, esp waves, against a surface, or the sound made by such a flow
19.  a.  the technique of making wash drawings
 b.  See wash drawing
20.  the erosion of soil by the action of flowing water
21.  a mass of alluvial material transported and deposited by flowing water
22.  land that is habitually washed by tidal or river waters
23.  the disturbance in the air or water produced at the rear of an aircraft, boat, or other moving object
24.  gravel, earth, etc, from which valuable minerals may be washed
25.  waste liquid matter or liquid refuse, esp as fed to pigs; swill
26.  an alcoholic liquid resembling strong beer, resulting from the fermentation of wort in the production of whisky
27.  informal come out in the wash to become known or apparent in the course of time
[Old English wæscan, waxan; related to Old High German wascan; see water]

Wash (wɒʃ)
the Wash a shallow inlet of the North Sea on the E coast of England, between Lincolnshire and Norfolk

washed out
1.  faded or colourless
2.  exhausted, esp when being pale in appearance

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

O.E. wascan, wæscan, from P.Gmc. *watskanan (cf. O.N. vaska, M.Du. wasscen, Du. wassen, Ger. waschen), from stem *wat-, the source of water. Used mainly of clothes in O.E. (the principal verb for washing the body, dishes, etc. being þwean). Verbal phrase wash out "obliterate, cancel" is attested
from 1580; hence colloquial sense of "to call off (an event) due to bad weather, etc.;" the noun sense of "disappointing failure" is recorded from 1902. Washed-out "faded" is from 1837; washed up is 1923 theater slang, from notion of washing up one's hands at the end of a job.

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

wash (wŏsh)
v. washed, wash·ing, wash·es

  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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

washed out

Faded in color; also, lacking animation. For example, This carpet is all washed out from the sun, or He looks all washed out. [Late 1700s; early 1800s] Also see wash out, def. 3.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Idioms & Phrases
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