washout
UK /ˈwɒʃaʊt/ · US /ˈwɔʃˌaʊt/ noun
Forms washouts wash-out
- noun An act of washing or cleaning the inside of something.
- noun An appliance designed to wash out the inside of something. “The cistern was fitted with washouts and air-valves.”
- noun The erosion of a relatively soft surface by a sudden gush of water; also, a channel produced by this action.
- noun (originally US, rail transport, road transport) A breach in a railway or road caused by flooding.
- noun A sporting fixture or other event that cannot be completed because of rain.
- noun An overwhelming victory; a landslide.
- noun A total failure; a disappointment.
- noun An unsuccessful person. “As an actor he was a complete washout, so he went back to accounting.”
Synonyms
Etymology
Deverbal from wash out.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “washout”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details