awash
adjective
awash
1 American
[uh-wosh, uh-wawsh]
/ əˈwɒʃ, əˈwɔʃ /
adjective
-
Nautical.
-
just level with or scarcely above the surface of the water, so that waves break over the top.
-
overflowing with water, as the upper deck of a ship in a heavy sea.
-
-
covered with water.
-
washing about; tossed about by the waves.
-
covered, filled, or crowded.
streets awash with shoppers; a garden awash in brilliant colors.
Awash
2
American
[ah-wahsh]
/ ˈɑ wɑʃ /
Also
Hawash
noun
awash
British
/ əˈwɒʃ /
adverb
-
at a level even with the surface of the sea
-
washed over by the waves
Etymology
Origin of awash
Explanation
When something's awash, it's doused or covered with water. If your canoe is awash with seawater, it's time to start bailing. A beach might be awash during high tide, and your beach cottage could be awash after a tropical rain. The decks of a boat are often described as being awash during a storm, flooded with water. Things can be figuratively awash, too: "The movie premiere was awash with photographers and fans." Awash was originally a nautical word meaning "flush with," from the 15th-century meaning of wash, "land alternately covered and exposed by the sea."
Vocabulary lists containing awash
The Cay
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Wolf Hollow
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Call It Courage
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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.
Fans shouted it on subway platforms, outside bars and restaurants, and on sidewalks awash in orange and blue.
From Salon • Jun. 14, 2026
New York City is awash in food dyes, from Jalen Brunson rigatoni to blue-and-orange bagels, for the NBA Finals.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
Edinburgh Airport was awash with kilts and Scotland tops on Wednesday as fans headed to the States via different flight routes.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
As excitement builds around the team that last won the NBA Finals in 1973, New York is awash in the Knicks' blue and orange colors.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
The evening sky was awash with peach, apricot, cream: tender little ice-cream clouds in a wide orange sky.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
