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🌊 Backward water flow 🔄 Lingering effects 🧹 To clean by reversing ↩️ To flow backward
to backwash

to backwash

5.5
To move backward, especially of water, sometimes causing damage
  • verb
  • /ˈbækˌwɑʃ/
translation icon : retroceder
  • The waves backwash onto the shore.

Examples

  • After the ferry passed, waves began backwashing against the moored boats and shaking them.

  • The river backwashed after the heavy rains.

  • The filter system needs regular cleaning to prevent water from backwashing into the pool.

  • Heavy rain can cause sewage to backwash into basements if drains are blocked.

  • The heavy rain caused the river to backwash into nearby fields, flooding the area.

  • When the boat sped away, the backwash from the propeller created large waves behind it.

  • If the drain is clogged, water might backwash into the sink during a heavy downpour.

Synonyms

to back
vsto backwash
475 1.0

To move in the direction behind you

is specifically a backward flow, often of water, with indirect consequences
to back up
vsto backwash
  • Specialized
238 2.7

Move backwards to make space or avoid something

is about a flow moving backward and causing indirect effects
to regurge
vsto backwash
  • Archaic
9.9

To move back in a strong flow, like water or blood

is a backward movement that can cause wider indirect effects
to counterflow
vsto backwash
  • Specialized
7.3

To move in the opposite direction to another movement, for example fluids or people

is a backward movement that often causes indirect effects

Antonyms

to flow downstream
1 2.6

Move with a river's current toward a lower place

How Strong

to surge
57 4.1
to rush
548 1.0
to backwash
5.5
backflow
  • Specialized
2 6.2
to recede
29 4.8

Surface Forms

backwash infinitive
backwashed past
backwashed past participle
backwashing present participle
backwashes third person singular

Morphology

backwash = back + wash (transparent) = back + wash

Literal sense of water moving backward onto something matches the straightforward compound 'back' + 'wash'.

Etymology

Backwash comes from back ('behind') and wash ('move water'). It means water moves back or makes water move back, as when waves push at a tied boat or when blocked drains send water into a home, so to backwash is to cause a backward flow that can make problems.