Where does washed come from?
The word washed has been around since Old English, and it literally means “cleaned.”
By at least the 1750s, we see evidence for听washed up,听or听having听cleaned up the dishes after a meal. This sense expanded to cleaning up just about anything, though especially in a household.
By the 1790s, the expression washed out was in use, referring to clothes that had been washed so many times their color had faded.
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By the early 20th century, both washed up and washed out had taken on figurative meanings. In 1923, the expression washed up meant “no longer effective.” This sense comes from washing up after finishing a job.
Over time, washed up听referred to someone who’d fallen out of popularity, particularly a performing artist.听Washed out similarly听took on a figurative sense for someone who is exhausted or out of energy.
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In the 21st century, slang senses of听washed up and washed out听dropped, apparently, their prepositions, e.g.,听飞补蝉丑别诲听for “irrelevant” “out of fashion.”
You know you鈥檙e washed when you鈥檙e out and all you can think about is going to bed 馃槱
— Rachelle (@Raewrecka)
Examples of washed
Who uses washed?
Washed up and washed out are common in their literal and figurative senses. They’re widely used throughout the English-speaking world.
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The slang听washed, without the prepositions, is often used interchangeably with听washed up.听
Lakers are washed without Lonzo Ball
— Boog (@kyron_200)
It can also be used of drugs. If you’ve been smoking marijuana all day, you might feel a bit washed.
I'm late to seeing this (I'm washed and went to bed right before you sent it) but dammit I don't remember smoking – just drinking at Chickie's pre-party, drinking at my grandpa's party, then coming back and drinking some more. And somehow I still ended up cleaning the kitchen lol
— The 13th Doctor (@jazzymsjasmine)
Alternatively, if you can’t hang like you did in your teen years, you might be听washed.
You know you're washed when you're tweeting about
— Mell Mann 馃惁 (@MellowSongz)
Referring to someone as being washed, for washed up, is听also found in hip-hop-culture. For example, Drake raps in his 2017 song “Gyalchester”: “I’m never washed, but I’m not new,” meaning he isn’t washed up, but he’s not fresh on the scene either.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of washed like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of washed that will help our users expand their word mastery.