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Glite Dictionary
🥤 To swallow with drink 🌊 To flow away
to wash down

to wash down

4 3.3
To move along with a strong flow of water
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɔʃ daʊn/
translation icon : arrastrar
  • When the gold got washed down to the beach line, wave action caused the gold to settle to the bedrock.
  • washed down the river
  • washed down the mountain
  • washed down from the hills

Examples

  • Soil nutrients will continue to wash down slowly from the Andes.

    Blog text (2)

  • DOE decontamination trucks will wash down your vehicles at the roadblock there.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, then hopped back onto the highway.

    Blog text (22)

  • Rivers of mud are washed down from the hills, carrying everything away in their paths: houses, carts, equipment, horses... EXT.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • In 1962, uranium mill tailings at Edgemont, South Dakota, washed down the Cheyenne River into the Pine Ridge Reservation.

    Academic text (1995)

  • He enjoyed a hearty meal, washed down with a refreshing glass of water.

  • After the spicy chili, Maria needed some soda to wash down.

  • The thick stew was easier to eat when washed down with some warm bread.

Synonyms

to wash
vsto wash down
258 2.3

To carry away soil or rock by moving water

is carried along by a current, not about water eroding or moving other objects
to drain
vsto wash down
198 1.0

To let liquid flow away from something

is carried along by a current, not mainly about removing or emptying
to wash away
vsto wash down
33 2.1

Water or another liquid carries something away

is about being carried along by a current, not about moving other things
to run down
vsto wash down
31 2.5

To flow down a surface like water on a window

is carried along by a current toward lower points, not only moving along surface
to flow out
vsto wash down
16 2.9

Move or pour out in a steady stream, often a liquid

is carried along by a current rather than mainly spilling from a place
to run off
vsto wash down
7 2.9

Flow away from a surface into drains or rivers

is carried along by a current toward lower points, not simply lost as waste
to cascade down
vsto wash down
4 4.2

To fall or flow quickly in large amounts like a waterfall

is carried along by a current, not falling rapidly like a waterfall
to flow downstream
vsto wash down
1 2.6

Move with a river's current toward a lower place

is carried freely by a current, focusing on motion not just direction
to flow away
vsto wash down
1 3.2

Water moves away slowly in a steady stream

is carried toward lower points by the current rather than just leaving the place
to flow off
vsto wash down
3.2

To move away from a surface in a steady stream, like water does

is carried by a current toward lower areas rather than only leaving the spot

How Strong

to wash away
33 2.1
to wash down
4 3.3
to drift
41 3.6
to float
645 1.0

Surface Forms

wash down infinitive
washed down past
washed down past participle
washing down present participle
washes down third person singular

Morphology

wash + down

The meaning 'to drink something in order to help swallow food' is directly and imageably derived from 'wash' (flowing liquid) + 'down' (movement to a lower place): the drink literally 'washes' the food down the throat, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the sense. The secondary metaphorical sense of soothing or lessening with a drink is an obvious extension of the same image and is cross-linguistically common, supporting a transparent classification.

Etymology

Wash down may come from the simple image of flood water washes things down a hill or river, with trees and debris carried away by the current. So, it now means 'to be carried along or flow with the water'.