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.
Two workers were loading equipment onto trucks and a third was hosing the fresh cement that will sit under a new house.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2025
The prime minister promised back in September to allow veterans to get onto social hosing lists more easily.
From BBC • Nov. 8, 2024
“All wasteful water use such as hosing down driveways and impervious surfaces, allowing water to flow unattended and using water in a grossly inefficient manner, is prohibited,” the Southwest Florida Water Management District website says.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2023
The pre-game festivities featured local pop stars, a military marching band, feathered dancers, a colour guard team and a fire engine driving around the field, hosing off the crowd.
From BBC • Nov. 13, 2023
Like, too old to be hosing down blazing houses, that’s for sure.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
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.
