wash up
Britishverb
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to wash (dishes, cutlery, etc) after a meal
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(intr) to wash one's face and hands
noun
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Wash one's hands and face, as in It's time to wash up for dinner . [First half of 1900s] Also see clean up , def. 2.
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Clean the utensils after a meal, as in I'll cook dinner if you promise to wash up . [Mid-1700s] Also see do the dishes .
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Bring about the end or ruin of; finish. This usage is often used put in the passive, be washed up , as in She's all washed up as a singer . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]
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.
A jellyfish-like creature called Velella velella, also known as by-the-wind sailors, can wash up on West Coast shores and are usually harmless to people.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026
Detainees were being served food on paper clam-shell to-go boxes, rather than regular trays, a staffer said, because the facility lacked employees to wash up at the end of mealtimes.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2025
"It was always going to wash up here."
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2025
I put an extra layer on, I don't turn the lights on, I make do with a kettle when I need to wash up.
From BBC • Jul. 31, 2024
The Easts showed me to my room and suggested I might like to wash up.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
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.
