backwash

[ bak-wosh, -wawsh ]
See synonyms for backwash on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Nautical. water thrown backward by the motion of oars, propellers, paddle wheels, etc.

  2. Aeronautics. the portion of the wash of an aircraft that flows to the rear, usually created by the power plant.: Compare wash (def. 31).

  1. a condition, usually undesirable, that continues long after the event which caused it.

verb (used with object)
  1. to affect, as by hitting, rocking, or splashing, with a backwash: a powerful cutter backwashing the skiers.

  2. to clean out (a clogged filter) by reversing the flow of fluid: Backwash the swimming pool's filters regularly.

Origin of backwash

1
First recorded in 1765–75; back2 + wash

Other words for backwash

Other words from backwash

  • backwasher, noun

Words Nearby backwash

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use backwash in a sentence

  • Making these enquiries, the chaplain came upon the backwash of Udal's reports that the King loved some leman.

    The Fifth Queen | Ford Madox Ford
  • So huge a splash did the vast rock give, that the sea heaved up and the backwash of the water drove the ship right to the shore.

  • Therefore, an ideal backwash is set up, which accounts for all the wreckage strewed on the beach.

    His Unknown Wife | Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for backwash

backwash

/ (ˈbækˌwɒʃ) /


noun
  1. a sucking movement of water, such as that of retreating waves: Compare swash (def. 4)

  2. water washed backwards by the motion of oars or other propelling devices

  1. the backward flow of air set up by an aircraft's engines

  2. a condition resulting from a previous event; repercussion

verb
  1. (tr) to remove oil from (combed wool)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012