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backwash: Meaning and Definition of
back•wash
Pronunciation: (bak'wosh", -wôsh"), [key] — n.
- water thrown backward by the motion of oars, propellers, paddle wheels, etc.
- the portion of the wash of an aircraft that flows to the rear, usually created by the power plant. Cf. wash (def. 35).
- a condition, usually undesirable, that continues long after the event which caused it.
—v.t. - to affect, as by hitting, rocking, or splashing, with a backwash: a powerful cutter backwashing the skiers.
- to clean out (a clogged filter) by reversing the flow of fluid: Backwash the swimming pool's filters regularly.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.