Word.ws English Dictionary

backwash

/ˈbæk.wɒʃ/US/ˈbæk.wɑʃ/

backwash noun: a backward flow of water, as from oars, a propeller, breaking waves, etc.

Noun

backwash (countable and uncountable, plural backwashes)

  1. A backward flow of water, as from oars, a propeller, breaking waves, etc.
    • I looked back to a ferry passing the Statue of Liberty now, its backwash a curving line upon the bay.1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 166
    • They pitched the dragon
      over the cliff-top, let tide's flow
      and backwash take the treasure-minder.1999, Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, London: Faber and Faber, page 98
  2. The similar flow of air from an aircraft engine.
  3. The result or consequence of an event; an aftermath.
  4. The saliva, spit or food particles that have flowed back into a drink after someone has drunk from it.
  5. The situation where economic growth in one area harms other areas by attracting people and business away from those areas.
  6. An obscure place; a backwater.
    • "Reasonable expenses, Nickle. You can't spend much in a backwash like this Tapsfield."1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London
  7. Synonym of washback.
    Synonyms:
    washback

Verb

backwash (third-person singular simple present backwashes, present participle backwashing, simple past and past participle backwashed)

  1. To operate a water filter in the reverse direction in order to clean it.
  2. (transitive) To affect with backwash.
  3. To clean the oil from wool after combing.

backwash meaning in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada

backwash in Tamil

அலை பின் வாங்கல், பின்னோக்கிச் செல்லும் அலை, பின்னடையும் நீரோட்டம் பிற்போக்கான செயல், பின்னடிதுச் செல்

backwash in Malayalam

slipstream, wake, wash
തിരയുടെ പശ്ചാത്ഗതി, ജലരേഖ, കപ്പൽച്ചാല്, ഓളം, പിൻവാങ്ങുന്ന തിര
repercussions, after-effects, reverberations
പ്രത്യാഘാതങ്ങൾ, ആഘാതപ്രത്യാഘാതങ്ങൾ, അടിയും തിരിച്ചടിയും അനുരണനങ്ങൾ, അനന്തര ദുഷ്ഫലങ്ങൾ, അനുബന്ധപ്രവർത്തനങ്ങൾ, അനന്തരഫലങ്ങൾ

backwash in Kannada

ಹಿಂದೆರೆ

Synonyms of backwash

Forms of backwash

Noun
pluralbackwashes
Verb
third-person singular presentbackwashes
present participlebackwashing
past participlebackwashed
pastbackwashed

Origin of backwash

From back + wash.

Words formed from backwash

Words that rhyme with backwash

Questions about backwash

What does backwash mean?
Backwash means a backward flow of water, as from oars, a propeller, breaking waves, etc.
What is backwash in Tamil?
Backwash in Tamil is அலை பின் வாங்கல், பின்னோக்கிச் செல்லும் அலை, பின்னடையும் நீரோட்டம் பிற்போக்கான செயல். See Backwash meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is backwash?
Backwash can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce backwash?
Backwash is pronounced /ˈbæk.wɒʃ/ (UK).
What is the plural of backwash?
The plural of backwash is backwashes.

Words near backwash in the dictionary

  1. backwards roll
  2. backwards rolls
  3. backwards-compatible
  4. backwards-compatibly
  5. backwardsness
  6. backwash
  7. backwash ileitis
  8. backwashable
  9. backwashed
  10. backwasher
  11. backwashers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: backwash (page history and authors); backwash (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); backwash (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); backwash (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-backwash.wav.

Cite this entry: “backwash.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/backwash. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.