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

Everything is tied together with a rainbow assortment of sauces and can be washed down with 14 craft beers, house cocktails and specialty teas. —Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 4 June 2025

For those looking to wash down their new wrap meal, Blueberry Lemonade, Blueberry Cane Sweet Tea, and Blueberry Unsweet Tea will also be joining the menu. —Aly Walansky, Southern Living, 2 June 2025

The fabrics, made with a cotton indigo warp and polyester weft, wash down like conventional denim. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 28 May 2025

At the stable after the practice run, under fans suspended from its gabled roof, soldiers washed down the horses. —Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, 27 May 2025

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