Definition

1. Verb:
   • To spray or drench with water using a hose: The action of applying water, typically from a flexible tube, to clean, cool, or water something.

Usage

• This verb is transitive and requires a direct object (the thing being sprayed with water).
• It is often used in contexts involving cleaning vehicles, outdoor surfaces, or watering plants/lawns.
• The phrasal verb can be used with the particle separated from the verb (e.g., "hose it down").

Examples

• Verb:
  • After playing in the mud, I had to hose down the children.
  • Please hose down the patio; it's covered in dust.
  • The firefighters hosed down the smoldering debris.

Advanced Usage

• "to hose down a situation": (Informal/Idiomatic) To calm or defuse a tense or volatile situation, often through forceful intervention or by applying a solution.
  • The manager had to hose down the argument between the two employees.

Variants and Related Words

• Hose (verb): To water, wash, or spray with a hose.
  • I need to hose the car.
• Hosing (noun): The act of using a hose.
  • The hosing of the garden took an hour.

Synonyms

• Rinse down: To wash with a stream of water.
• Wash down: To clean by flushing with water.
• Spray down: To direct a spray of liquid onto something.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Hose off: Very similar to "hose down," often implying cleaning a surface by removing loose material.
  • Hose off the dirt from your boots before coming inside.

Related Idioms

• "to take a hose to something": To deal with a problem in a direct, forceful, or simplistic manner, often involving a lot of effort or resources.
  • The new policy is like taking a hose to a candle flame—it's an overreaction.

Verb

1. water with a hose
   • hose the lawn