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wash

wash

22 7.7
A situation where gains and losses cancel each other out
  • noun
  • /wɔʃ/
: empate
  • - It all comes out in the wash.

So it's like, well, it could just be a wash in that ad spend ends up getting that revenue to maintain or whatever, right?

Examples

  • Boy, was this a wash.

  • In the end, the investment was a complete wash, yielding neither profit nor loss.

  • So it's like, well, it could just be a wash in that ad spend ends up getting that revenue to maintain or whatever, right?

  • So, maybe it's a wash.

  • Moscow was a complete wash.

  • But because of that countervailing force, it's probably a wash, you know, in terms of just how much further you get.

  • It all came out in the wash, didn't it?

  • The worst-case scenario by your arguments is that it is a wash on economics.

    Blog text (8)
  • Jean actually smiled, and Margot felt a wash of gratitude.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • After all the expenses and revenues were accounted for, the project turned out to be a wash.

Antonyms

profit
  • Specialized
797 2.0

Money left after you pay all costs and taxes

313 2.1

Money lost by a business or person

Idioms

To punish someone by putting soap in their mouth for swearing

2 7.0

A secret or problem becomes known later

To talk about private, embarrassing things in front of other people

To tell someone off for saying rude words, sometimes by putting soap in their mouth

To try to get rid of bad pictures or thoughts in your mind after something upsetting

6.3

Refuse to take the blame for a problem

6.7

Stop being involved and refuse to take responsibility for someone or something

Compounds

1 1.0

A day for doing the family's laundry

Cloth that does not need ironing after it is washed

wash room
  • Canadian
1 1.0

A public room with toilets and sinks for cleaning hands

1 8.2

A dry stream bed that fills with water quickly after heavy rain in a desert

prop wash
  • Specialized
1 8.4

A propeller or rotor pushes air backward that can shake things nearby

color wash
  • Specialized
1 5.4

A thin see-through layer of water-based paint that gives a surface a soft blended color

color wash
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A uniform tint added across an image to change its mood

wash-hand stand
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small table that holds a basin and pitcher for washing hands before indoor plumbing

wash drawing
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A picture that uses thin watercolor layers to make soft shades and depth

A place that cleans a car both inside and outside

A fabric you can wash and wear without ironing

5.3

Large flat laundry items like sheets and towels that are ironed by machine

rain-wash
  • Specialized
7.7

The washing away of soil from the ground by rain

Soft absorbent cloth used to clean and shine cars and other surfaces

wash up
  • Jargon
9.3

A short time at the end of Parliament when bills are rushed through

A bowl fixed to a wall or on a stand where people clean their hands and face

wish-wash
  • Archaic
9.5

Unclear or silly talk without any real meaning

wish-wash
  • Archaic
9.9

A weak, watery drink with little taste

How Profitable

windfall
34 5.1
profit
  • Specialized
797 2.0
surplus
157 3.1
wash
22 7.7
deficit
792 4.3
loss
313 2.1

Surface Forms

wash singular
washes plural

Etymology

A helpful image for wash meaning 'no net change' is water that evens things out and removes difference, so if two results 'wash' each other out, there is no real gain or loss.