Where does washed come from?
The word washed has been around since Old English, and it literally means “cleaned.”
By at least the 1750s, we see evidence for washed up, or having cleaned up the dishes after a meal. This sense expanded to cleaning up just about anything, though especially in a household.
By the 1790s, the expression washed out was in use, referring to clothes that had been washed so many times their color had faded.
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By the early 20th century, both washed up and washed out had taken on figurative meanings. In 1923, the expression washed up meant “no longer effective.” This sense comes from washing up after finishing a job.
Over time, washed up referred to someone who’d fallen out of popularity, particularly a performing artist. Washed out similarly took on a figurative sense for someone who is exhausted or out of energy.
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In the 21st century, slang senses of washed up and washed out dropped, apparently, their prepositions, e.g., washed for “irrelevant” “out of fashion.”
You know you’re washed when you’re out and all you can think about is going to bed 😩
— Rachelle (@Raewrecka) December 23, 2018
Examples of washed
Who uses washed?
Washed up and washed out are common in their literal and figurative senses. They’re widely used throughout the English-speaking world.
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The slang washed, without the prepositions, is often used interchangeably with washed up.
Lakers are washed without Lonzo Ball
— Boog (@kyron_200) February 24, 2019
It can also be used of drugs. If you’ve been smoking marijuana all day, you might feel a bit washed.
I'm late to seeing this (I'm washed and went to bed right before you sent it) but dammit I don't remember smoking – just drinking at Chickie's pre-party, drinking at my grandpa's party, then coming back and drinking some more. And somehow I still ended up cleaning the kitchen lol
— The 13th Doctor (@jazzymsjasmine) December 15, 2018
Alternatively, if you can’t hang like you did in your teen years, you might be washed.
You know you're washed when you're tweeting about #TheOscars
— Mell Mann 🐦 (@MellowSongz) February 25, 2019
Referring to someone as being washed, for washed up, is also found in hip-hop-culture. For example, Drake raps in his 2017 song “Gyalchester”: “I’m never washed, but I’m not new,” meaning he isn’t washed up, but he’s not fresh on the scene either.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of washed like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of washed that will help our users expand their word mastery.