hosing
Americannoun
-
an act or instance of being taken advantage of or cheated.
-
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
He worked six days a week, hosing down cars, soaping them up and vacuuming inside.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2025
Over time, they made progress, hosing off embers and spot fires.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2025
Chief Marshal Williams, for instance, had jumped aboard a passing engine and was now at one of the remaining bridge crossings, hosing it down.
From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy
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.
