dry wash

noun

Western US

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web On Tuesday night, the Mystic Hills Lift Station, south of uptown Sedona, reported spilling 22,000 gallons of raw sewage into an unnamed dry wash that discharges about 1,000 feet downstream from the station into Oak Creek. Lacey Latch, The Arizona Republic, 1 Apr. 2023 Missteps dogged the clean up after a pipeline failure released 400 barrels into a dry wash in Dixie National Forest outside Escalante, emails show. Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune, 21 July 2022 Piles of coal blacken the hillsides leading into this former mining town and stain the red earth in the arroyo, a dry wash that runs between rows of old miners’ cabins. Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2022 In the village of Al Jaylah, a falaj cuts through a dry wash and splits into canals that nourish date palms, lemons, bananas, mangoes, and fields of hay and grass for goats and cows. Ian James, azcentral, 28 Nov. 2019 That's carlike, too, but a Civic isn't going to be nearly as comfortable dropping into a dry wash at 60 mph. Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 9 Feb. 2020 Al-Hawasi came to a spot beside a dry wash where the aqueduct snakes downhill as a covered channel. Ian James, azcentral, 28 Nov. 2019 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dry wash.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dry wash was in 1872

Dictionary Entries Near dry wash

Cite this Entry

“Dry wash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dry%20wash. Accessed 6 Jun. 2023.

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