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• awash
  awash

  adjective
• Awash
  Awash

  noun

  a river in E Ethiopia, flowing NE through the Great Rift Valley to near the Djibouti border. 500 miles (805 km) long.

awash

¹ American  

[uh-wosh, uh-wawsh] / əˈwɒʃ, əˈwɔʃ /

adjective

1. Nautical.

   1. just level with or scarcely above the surface of the water, so that waves break over the top.

   2. overflowing with water, as the upper deck of a ship in a heavy sea.

2. covered with water.

3. washing about; tossed about by the waves.

4. covered, filled, or crowded.

   streets awash with shoppers; a garden awash in brilliant colors.

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Awash ² American  

[ah-wahsh] / ˈɑ wɑʃ /

Also Hawash

noun

1. a river in E Ethiopia, flowing NE through the Great Rift Valley to near the Djibouti border. 500 miles (805 km) long.

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awash British  

/ əˈwɒʃ /

adverb

1. at a level even with the surface of the sea

2. washed over by the waves

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Etymology

Origin of awash

First recorded in 1825–35; a- ¹ + wash

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

awash Awash

Social media was also awash with tributes to Purja, with many saying that Nepal was in mourning and that the country had lost a "legend" and "many great climbers".

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

The roughly $2 trillion private-credit market has been awash in redemption requests, especially in funds with heavy industry exposure.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

The internet is awash with AI-powered face-swapping technology and a new generation of motion-control tools capable of producing highly realistic videos, allowing users to precisely manipulate a person's movements and facial expressions in real time.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

In a world awash with gimmicky new exchange-traded funds—more than 1,000 launched in the U.S. just last year—an unflashy idea has found surprising success.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

In every room, save Radar’s, their home was awash in black Santadom—plaster and plastic and marble and clay and wood and resin and cloth.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green

Awash in the sounds of rain, she pleads with a lover to abandon her, as she does not feel strong enough to make that choice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

In the mid-1990s, White, then–graduate student Haile-Selassie, and others began an intense search for Lucy’s ancestors in the Middle Awash region of Ethiopia.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 3, 2024

Awash in the harmonious hues of browns and oranges, complemented by lavish gold accents, this table setting exudes a sense of opulence and comfort.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2023

Awash with cash after a year of high oil prices, fossil fuel producers have the firepower to invest in green energy.

From Reuters ● Jan. 20, 2023

Awash in self-pity, I even longed for Aunt Ivy.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Related Words

• afloat
• flooded
• inundated