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Synonyms

washed-up

American  
[wosht-uhp, wawsht-] / ˈwɒʃtˈʌp, ˈwɔʃt- /

adjective

Informal.
  1. done for; having failed completely.


washed up British  

adjective

  1. no longer useful, successful, hopeful, etc

    our hopes for the new deal are all washed up

  2. exhausted

"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

washed up Idioms  
  1. see wash up, def. 3.


Etymology

Origin of washed-up

First recorded in 1920–25

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.

The promise of seeing the washed-up Kid Rock in an intimate setting appears to thrill no one.

From Salon

Editor: Stephen Mirrione Scene: The montage in which Brad Pitt’s washed-up racer Sonny Hayes begins his winning streak through a momentum-building Grand Prix swing.

From Los Angeles Times

No amount of protest-too-much screeching from Cheung, which included calling White “washed-up,” can conceal that of course the rock god is far, far cooler than Cheung could ever hope to be in a million years.

From Salon

Like his character, washed-up Formula One racer Sonny Hayes, Pitt is returning to the grandest version of this race by his own volition, with his own set of rules.

From Salon

Two days after the Dodgers released a washed-up Chris Taylor, he was starting in center field for the Angels.

From Los Angeles Times