wash down

verb

washed down; washing down; washes down

transitive verb

1

: to move or carry downward by action of a liquid

especially : to facilitate the passage of (food) down the gullet with accompanying swallows of liquid

pizza washed down with beer

2

: to wash the whole length or extent of

washed down and scrubbed the front porch

Examples of wash down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Quartz crystals wash down from the Appalachian Mountains, collecting here and making the white sand sparkle. —Ana Pelayo Connery, Travel + Leisure, 16 June 2026

Even the nicer California wines were better for washing down food than savoring for taste. —Mark Dent, HubSpot, 15 May 2026

Guests were served canapes including a surprisingly brilliant mango and mung bean tartare plus chicken teriyaki kebabs, all washed down with elegant Hugo Spritz and espresso martinis. —Partner Content, Variety, 9 May 2026

This section of the p-trap is also responsible for collecting debris as it's washed down the drain. —Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 8 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for wash down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown