wash up

wash up (third-person singular simple present washes up, present participle washing up, simple past and past participle washed up)

1. (Britain, intransitive) To clean the utensils, dishes etc. used in preparing and eating a meal.

   You wash up tonight and I'll dry.

2. (US, intransitive) To wash one's hands and/or face, often around mealtimes.

   Dinner is almost ready, so go and wash up.

3. (intransitive, of water) To carry an object to land.

   The whale was washed up on the beach.

• (clean utensils, dishes, etc.): do the dishes, do the washing-up

wash up (plural wash ups)

1. The act by which something is washed.
2. (informal) Something or somebody that is washed up; a has-been.
3. (military, slang) A meeting to gauge the success or failure of an operation or war game.
   • 2001, William J Crowe, Jr., The Line of Fire

     I found it quite interesting that the players had gone to great lengths not to fire nuclear weapons, even in games that pitted Soviet and Western forces against each other in demanding situations. […] Huge arguments would take place in the post-game analyses or "washups."

• Upshaw, upwash, wha-ups, whasup, whaups