wash up

British  

verb

1. to wash (dishes, cutlery, etc) after a meal

2. (intr) to wash one's face and hands

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noun

1. the end, outcome of a process

   in the washup, three candidates were elected

wash up Idioms  

1. 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.

2. 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 .

3. 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]

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Example Sentences

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

On Monday HM Coastguard said some were beginning to wash up around The Wash – a large inlet of the North Sea stretching from just south of Skegness to near Hunstanton, in Norfolk.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2025

Mr Simpson adds: "We thought something would wash up here."

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2025

Ludovico recommends visitors drive a few miles from the wash up Big Tujunga Canyon Road to Vogel Flats, which is part of the Angeles National Forest.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2024

Even when we were out playing, he’d excuse himself, draw water from the well in the yard, wash up, and dis­appear into the hut.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Related Words

• bankrupt
• decrease
• diminish
• drain
• empty
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