washed-up

[ wosht-uhp, wawsht- ]

adjective

, Informal.

1. done for; having failed completely.

washed up

adjective

1. no longer useful, successful, hopeful, etc

   our hopes for the new deal are all washed up

2. exhausted

Word History and Origins

Origin of washed-up¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Idioms and Phrases

see wash up , def. 3.

Example Sentences

Like a washed-up guitarist, Trump’s so-called “weave” was often aimless and longwinded but filled with riffs that longtime listeners would know and love.

From Salon

Bringing in the criminal element, of course, puts extra pressure on the characters beyond the question of whether an underdog will triumph or a washed-up competitor come back.

From Los Angeles Times

The bodies of a couple who set off on a sailing trip across the Atlantic Ocean have been found on a washed-up life raft almost six weeks after they were last seen.

From BBC

She hammers the 77-year-old Trump as chaotic and washed-up but says she voted for him twice and was proud to serve as his U.N. ambassador.

From Seattle Times

It’s not exactly a promising premise: a washed-up boxer turned sleazy promoter finds a champion on the underground robot-boxing circuit, bonding with his estranged son in the process.

From New York Times