wash it down

Meaning

This expression means to drink a liquid (such as water, beer, or soda) during or immediately after eating something dry, spicy, or heavy. It helps you swallow the food easily or clear your throat. It is a casual phrasal verb used in everyday dining situations.

Examples

• I had a dry turkey sandwich and had to wash it down with a glass of apple juice.

  I had a dry turkey sandwich and had to wash it down with a glass of apple juice.

• He ordered a cold beer to wash down the spicy chicken wings.

  He ordered a cold beer to wash down the spicy chicken wings.

• The medicine tasted terrible, so I washed it down with some sweet orange soda.

  The medicine tasted terrible, so I washed it down with some sweet orange soda.

• We ate a bunch of salty pretzels and washed them down with water.

  We ate a bunch of salty pretzels and washed them down with water.

• She loves eating rich chocolate cake and washing it down with a hot cup of black coffee.

  She loves eating rich chocolate cake and washing it down with a hot cup of black coffee.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I washed down the food by water.

  ✓ I washed down the food with water.

  We use the preposition 'with' to indicate the beverage used to wash down the food, not 'by'.

• ✗ He washed it down his throat.

  ✓ He washed the food down with a drink.

  'Wash down' takes the food or drink as the object, not the body part. Use 'wash [food] down' or 'wash it down with [drink]'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The biscuits were incredibly dry, so I had to ___ with a glass of milk.

  💡 Use a pronoun for the plural biscuits.

  Show answer

  wash them down

• He took the bitter pill and quickly ___ with some orange juice.

  💡 Use the past tense of the phrasal verb.

  Show answer

  washed it down