Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
washing-up

washing-up

2 1.0
Cleaning dishes and cutlery after a meal
  • noun
  • /ˈwɒʃɪŋ ʌp/
  • UK
translation icon : lavado de platos
  • What about all the washing up afterward?
  • help with the washing-up

So I've got hand washing one of them and washing up in the other.

Examples

  • Ginny, having finished the washing up from supper, comes into the den and sits in the rocker by the fireplace.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • You can study the basic laws and principles of the universe... in the evening, after you've done the washing up.

    Young Einstein (1988)

  • Go and help your brother with the washing up.

    The King's Speech (2010)

  • Perhaps he was trying to get out of doing the washing up.

    Blog text (24)

  • I'll do the washing up.

    Off-Piste (2016)

  • Do you need some help wit the washing up?

    The Cutting Room (2015)

  • I thought you'd done the washing up.

    Millions (2004)

  • Don't forget the washing up tonight, will you, dear?

    The Leather Boys (1964)

  • The primus was handy as a backup because otherwise he would have to wait for the potatoes to boil before he could warm water for the washing up.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • After dinner, it was his job to do the washing-up.

Synonyms

dishwashing
vswashing-up
9 1.0

Cleaning plates, cups, and pans after a meal

focuses on cleaning after a meal rather than after any use
washup
vswashing-up
  • UK
2.6

Washing the dishes and pans after a meal

includes cleaning cutlery and other utensils beyond just plates

Antonyms

dirtiness
1 1.0

Not being clean because it has mud, dust or stains

uncleanliness
1 5.5

A state when a place or person is dirty and not cared for

How Thorough

scrubbing
17 1.0
washing-up
  • UK
2 1.0
rinsing
3 1.0
to wipe
531 1.0

Surface Forms

washing-up singular
washing-ups plural

Morphology

washing-up = wash + up (transparent) = wash + up + ing

Formed by adding the gerundial suffix '-ing' to the phrasal verb 'wash up' (wash + up); the meaning 'the act of washing dishes' is directly derived from the base.

Etymology

Washing-up comes from the simple words wash ('to clean') and up ('finished'), so it names the cleaning you do when something is finished being used. Washing-up is the washing of plates, cups and pans after a meal.