hosing
Americannoun
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an act or instance of being taken advantage of or cheated.
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an act or instance of being attacked or defeated decisively; drubbing.
Small investors took a hosing in the recent stock-market decline.
Etymology
Origin of hosing
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.
Firefighters quickly began hosing down the smoking reactor -- "they didn't let the fire spread," Solovyov said.
From Barron's • Apr. 25, 2026
In between matches, hard-working staff are hosing down the courts to cool the sand.
From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026
Over time, they made progress, hosing off embers and spot fires.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2025
“I ran up here from Torrance and grabbed what I could,” said Joe, whose pants and boots were soaked with water from hosing down his father’s home.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2025
He goes back and forth on the docks, hosing down the charter boats, once the tourists and fish are gone.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
