eyewash
Americannoun
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Also called collyrium. Pharmacology. a solution applied locally to the eye for irrigation or administering medication.
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Informal. nonsense; bunk.
noun
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a mild solution for applying to the eyes for relief of irritation, etc
-
informal nonsense; rubbish
Etymology
Origin of eyewash
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.
"For us in the Khumbu region, it has just been an eyewash," said Nawang Thome Sherpa, head of a local body in Phakding, one of the vulnerable villages downstream Imja lake.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
Throw on a lab coat, spark a Bunsen burner, and stay close to the eyewash station, but hopefully it won’t come to that.
From Barron's • Dec. 26, 2025
But Smith’s thumb-pointing, both in the aftermath of the game and retrospectively throughout this week, isn’t just eyewash.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2023
In particular, Newsom called out workplace regulations that require “providing an eyewash station if household workers use chemicals like bleach.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2023
He was the only man Esteban had ever met who polished his fingernails and put blue eyewash in his eyes.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
