washout
a washing out of earth, gravel, etc., by water, as from an embankment or a roadway by heavy rain or by a flash flood.
the hole, break, or erosion produced by such a washing out.
Origin of washout
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use washout in a sentence
And the toxin, which sits in the synapses between neurons, can take weeks to wash out.
While graduate students who wash out have less debt than law graduates, they have also used up a lot more valuable years.
Can a candidate repeatedly wash out in debates and still win a presidential nomination?
As soon as the stain has disappeared, wash out the linen immediately, as it will be injured if the mixture is left in it.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence HartleyIt takes a full day to lug enough water up to the canyon levels to wash out a pan of gravel.
David Lannarck, Midget | George S. Harney
At night the water of the stream was allowed to run through this channel, and wash out the gravel and sand.
Historic Adventures | Rupert S. HollandIn order to convert the ores into metals, some of them are first reduced to powder, to wash out the earthy or saline particles.
He had wronged them: and time alone will suffice to wash out the ever-present remembrance of such wrongs.
The Shadow of Ashlydyat | Mrs. Henry Wood
British Dictionary definitions for wash out
(tr) to wash (the inside of something) so as to remove (dirt)
Also: wash off to remove or be removed by washing: grass stains don't wash out easily
(tr) to cancel or abandon (a sporting event)
geology
erosion of the earth's surface by the action of running water
a narrow channel produced by this erosion
informal
a total failure or disaster
an incompetent person
a sporting or social event that is cancelled due to rain
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
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.
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