wash down
Britishverb
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to wash completely, esp from top to bottom
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to take drink with or after (food or another drink)
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Clean by washing from top to bottom, as in He always washes down the walls before painting . [Second half of 1800s]
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Drink a liquid after eating food or taking medicine, as in He washed down the pills with a glass of water . [c. 1600]
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.
Chips and a cup of Tex-Mex style queso as a snack, and a cardamon-spiked mandarin agua fresca to wash down everything.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026
Someone got the timing wrong Sunday at the oldest Grand Slam tournament, where the bubbly helps wash down the strawberries and cream.
From Washington Times • Jul. 9, 2023
In the middle of Liselle’s party, a woman knocks at the door and asks if she can wash down the house’s windows for a few dollars.
From New York Times • Oct. 19, 2021
When it eventually does rain, garbage from the streets and sidewalks will wash down into the lake again, giving the group a fresh chore.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 1, 2021
I used the floor water to wash down the front steps and threw the last of it on the seeds I’d planted in coffee tins by the door.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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.
