awash
1 Americanadjective
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Nautical.
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just level with or scarcely above the surface of the water, so that waves break over the top.
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overflowing with water, as the upper deck of a ship in a heavy sea.
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covered with water.
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washing about; tossed about by the waves.
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covered, filled, or crowded.
streets awash with shoppers; a garden awash in brilliant colors.
noun
adverb
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at a level even with the surface of the sea
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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.
See Examples For:
We’re awash in apocalyptic anxieties about rogue technology.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
Big funding rounds have become increasingly common in cybersecurity, but Cyera’s recent haul stands out even in a sector awash with capital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
TikTok and Instagram are awash with videos of foreigners trying the fiery snacks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
To be sure, there’s the potential for backlash from air travelers, who are already awash with several fare classes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
He found his feet again and lurched to the rail, and then he was fighting, staggering and splashing across crooked decks awash with water.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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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 critical exultation, the movie rolled into theaters on Christmas Day and sold more than $18 million in tickets, a near record for the holiday.
From New York Times ● Jan. 7, 2024
Awash in austere overhead lighting, Kanai sat in a small office at the headquarters of Mutual Trading just outside Little Tokyo.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 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
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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.