as in squeezing
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
when the guy failed to return with our money, we realized that we had been hosed
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Recent Examples of hosing
Firefighters were on the street hosing down the burning stacks of e-bikes, the live stream showed, and fire trucks were making their way through showers of sparks from fireworks being lit in the darkening Paris skies.
—
Ben Church, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
Dallas Fire-Rescue also shared photos that showed crews hosing down the charred remains of the complex, where debris and burned wood littered the scene.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 29 May 2026
Her neighbors stayed in their backyard, hosing down trees as aircrafts continued water dumps.
—Sean Emery, Daily News, 18 May 2026
Aphids are often managed by hosing them off foliage using a strong stream of water.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 13 May 2026
On the night of April 21, Toronto fire crews called time on the stunt, blocking access to the sculpture and hosing it down with warm water, Toronto City News reports.
—Alex Suskind, Pitchfork, 21 Apr. 2026
As buses loaded with evacuees pulled onto the road, members of the skeleton crew started gathering their belongings and hosing down buildings.
—New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Residents were prohibited from watering their lawns or hosing down their cars; industrial operations, largely exempt from drought restrictions, kept drawing the water they had been promised.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2025
The video — which name-drops the Euphoria star — sees Lizzo hosing down a Porsche while clad in torn denim.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Ben Church, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
Dallas Fire-Rescue also shared photos that showed crews hosing down the charred remains of the complex, where debris and burned wood littered the scene.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 29 May 2026
Her neighbors stayed in their backyard, hosing down trees as aircrafts continued water dumps.
—Sean Emery, Daily News, 18 May 2026
Aphids are often managed by hosing them off foliage using a strong stream of water.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 13 May 2026
On the night of April 21, Toronto fire crews called time on the stunt, blocking access to the sculpture and hosing it down with warm water, Toronto City News reports.
—Alex Suskind, Pitchfork, 21 Apr. 2026
As buses loaded with evacuees pulled onto the road, members of the skeleton crew started gathering their belongings and hosing down buildings.
—New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Residents were prohibited from watering their lawns or hosing down their cars; industrial operations, largely exempt from drought restrictions, kept drawing the water they had been promised.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2025
The video — which name-drops the Euphoria star — sees Lizzo hosing down a Porsche while clad in torn denim.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hosing
Verb
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Carting around unhappy campers in 100-degree weather and squeezing work into a shorter window is not exactly being poolside with a marg.—
Abby McCloskey,
Twin Cities,
4 June 2026
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The defense is disciplined, squeezing pressure from its trio of wings.—
Esfandiar Baraheni,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Fallout from the scandal, compounded by the Labor Party’s stinging local election losses, has tanked Starmer’s poll numbers.—
Jill Lawless,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
Sacramento Stingers California’s capital city has a number of prominent entities represented by flying, stinging insects.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Each following June, Kvaratskhelia would repeat the ritual, plucking the early growers from the tree.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
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The only thing that prevented a shutout was Ross Colton plucking in a rebound off Brent Burns’ sniper off Hart’s chest.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
23 May 2026
Verb
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The ball trickled behind second, and Hoerner kept going, hustling his way to second.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Over the past few years, Google has been hustling to reinvent its business for the AI age, trying to keep consumers in the habit of going to its search page as chatbots from startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic become more popular.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Put the stopper back in the sink before re-screwing the pivot nut, horizontal rod, and sliding your under sink items back into place.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
8 May 2026
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Finally, the professional will install hangers to reinforce your gutters before screwing the mesh guard on top.—
Faith Wakefield,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Greg de la Garza, Miami The Republican Party of Florida is cheating and getting away with it.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 May 2026
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In the course of reality TV’s 20-some-odd years golden era, a cheating scandal is almost as certain as a public screaming match in an unsuspecting local restaurant.—
Alexandra Hildreth,
Vogue,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The sun’s connection to Saturn shows that sticking it out was the right call.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
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That's not to say fundamental investors should be ostriches, sticking their heads in the ground and avoiding the big picture and market trends.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe beating and banging all the way to the checkers.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
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Competitor Ross saw comparable sales jump a staggering 17%, beating expectations of 9%, and also attributed some of its outsize growth to extra stimulus.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,
CNBC,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hosing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hosing. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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