washout

[ wosh-out, wawsh- ]
See synonyms for washout on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a washing out of earth, gravel, etc., by water, as from an embankment or a roadway by heavy rain or by a flash flood.

  2. the hole, break, or erosion produced by such a washing out.

  1. Also wash-out .Aeronautics. a warp in an airfoil that gives a decrease in the angle of attack toward the tip.: Compare washin.

  2. Informal. an utter failure.

  3. Informal. a person who has failed a course of training or study: air force washouts.

Origin of washout

1
First recorded in 1870–75; noun use of verb phrase wash out

Words Nearby washout

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

How to use washout in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wash out

wash out

verb(adverb)
  1. (tr) to wash (the inside of something) so as to remove (dirt)

  2. Also: wash off to remove or be removed by washing: grass stains don't wash out easily

  1. (tr) to cancel or abandon (a sporting event)

nounwashout
  1. geology

    • erosion of the earth's surface by the action of running water

    • a narrow channel produced by this erosion

  2. informal

    • a total failure or disaster

    • an incompetent person

  1. a sporting or social event that is cancelled due to rain

  2. aeronautics a decrease in the angle of attack of an aircraft wing towards the wing tip

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with washout

washout

Remove or be removed by washing; also, cause to fade by laundering. For example, Give it to me; I'll wash out that stain, or The bleach has really washed out that bright print. [Mid-1700s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.