wash down

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Thân thiện
Definition

Verb (transitive) 1. To clean or rinse something by causing water or another liquid to flow over it. 2. To consume food or medicine by drinking a liquid immediately afterward, often to make swallowing easier or to enhance the taste.

Usage

The verb "wash down" is typically used with a direct object (the thing being cleaned or the food/medicine being consumed). It often requires a prepositional phrase (with water, with wine, etc.) to specify the liquid used.

Examples

  1. Cleaning/Rinsing meaning:

    • After painting, he washed down the brushes with warm, soapy water.
    • The deck needs to be washed down with a hose.

  2. Consuming food/drink meaning:

    • She washed down the pill with a full glass of water.
    • They washed down their burgers with cold milkshakes.
Advanced Usage
  • Metaphorical Use: The consumption meaning is often used metaphorically to describe using a substance (like alcohol) to cope with or suppress a feeling.
    • He tried to wash down his disappointment with a few beers.
    • She washes down her loneliness with a glass of wine every evening.
Variants and Related Words
  • Wash (verb): The base verb, meaning to clean with water and often soap.
  • Rinse down (verb phrase): Very similar to the cleaning meaning of "wash down," emphasizing the flushing action of the liquid.
    • Rinse down the sink after use.
Synonyms
  1. For the cleaning meaning: Rinse off, sluice down, hose down.
  2. For the consumption meaning: Chase (informal), take with a drink.
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Wash away: To remove or carry away by the action of water.
    • The flood washed away the bridge.
  • Wash out: To clean the inside of something; also, to cancel or fail due to rain.
    • Wash out the coffee pot. The game was washed out.
Related Idioms
  • Wash one's hands of (something): To refuse to be involved with or responsible for something any longer.
    • After the argument, he washed his hands of the whole project.(Note: "Wash down" itself is a phrasal verb and is not typically categorized as an idiom.)
Verb
  1. flow freely
    • The body washed down the river
  2. eat food accompanied by lots of liquid; also use metaphorically
    • She washed down her dinner with a bottle of red wine
    • He washes down his worries with a nightly glass of whisky

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