noun
wash
Waves left behind by something moving through water.
The boat's wash rocks the small dinghy behind it.
Etymology
The verb's moving-water sense produced a noun for surging or disturbed water. A vessel's wash is the wave pattern it leaves behind.
More examples
- We waited for the ferry's wash to subside.
- A broad wash spread across the calm lake.
- The canoe turned sharply into the passing wash.
Forms
wash · washes
Similar words
- wake
- The disturbed trail behind a vessel, including more than the waves.