wash up
Britishverb
-
to wash (dishes, cutlery, etc) after a meal
-
(intr) to wash one's face and hands
noun
-
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]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The devastating effect of storms on seabirds, including the thousands of puffins washing up on the coastline in the South West, Channel Islands and France, has been well documented.
From BBC
In that year more than 50,000 seabirds washed up on the Europe's Atlantic coast.
From BBC
He worries that even more detritus will wash up on the beach in the future.
From BBC
Half a dead shark had washed up in the tide.
From Literature
"It had been really stormy, and there was a lot of debris washed up, but as I got closer I realised this was a turtle - but it looked very dead," he said.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
