to wash out
8
4.3
- phrasal verb
- /wɔʃ aʊt/
:
arrastrar
- Roads were washed out by the runoff.
- washed out roads
- washed out bridges
- washed out by floods
But the roads that have been washed out from the hurricane in Asheville, there's still muddy trails.
- But the roads that have been washed out from the hurricane in Asheville, there's still muddy trails.
- And the thinking is that it can't find a spot to resist being washed out of the gut.
Examples
-
The road home was washed out, where it dips near the old mill.
-
The heavy rains washed out the bridge, making it unsafe to cross.
-
Any teams following us, county road 4 is washed out at our position.
-
The road's washed out a couple miles ahead.
-
No, because the roads are washed out.
-
When it rains, all the roads around here get washed out.
-
Storm's washed the bridge out.
-
Numerous road shoulders are also washed out due to flooding.
Blog text (13) -
Few provisions were available in Cucao because the dirt road to the small settlement had been half washed out.
Fiction book (1998) -
After the storm, many roads were washed out, leaving the town cut off.
Synonyms
258
2.3
To carry away soil or rock by moving water
189
4.2
Destroy something so nothing is left
51
4.5
Force unwanted people or things out of a place, often using water
33
2.1
Water or another liquid carries something away
7
4.5
Slowly wears away rock and soil by wind or water
1
3.9
To destroy or carry something away completely, for example by water
1
9.9
Remove material from a surface by melting, wearing away, or burning
Antonyms
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Morphology
There is a loose, metaphorical link between 'wash' (to remove/clean) + 'out' (completely/away) suggesting depletion or removal, so a learner might sense some loss meaning. However, the specific sense 'to make someone very weak or tired' is metaphorical, the verb has multiple senses (cancelled, fail, exhaust), and the exact exhaustion meaning is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Wash out paints the image of strong water running over land and washing soil out, leaving holes or broken roads. So it now means 'to destroy or remove things by flowing water'.