washed up

comparative more washed up · superlative most washed up · alternative washed-up

1. informalWell past their prime and no longer successful; having no future in a particular role.

   Pavarotti's washed up as a singer, in my view.

   4 more examples

   It would be difficult, for example, to imagine a bigger, more obvious subject for comedy than the laughable self-delusion of washed-up celebrities, especially if the washed-up celebrity in question is Adam West, a camp icon who can go toe to toe with William Shatner as the king of winking self-parody.

   2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)

   Reize: 'WHOA! ARE YOU FOR REAL, MISTER? [...] AND YOU EVEN GOT A BELT WITH YOUR NAME ON IT?! THE BAZ... I KNEW IT! YOU MUST BE A NOBLE WARRIOR!' / Baz: 'PSHHH. SCRAM, KID. I'M JUST A NOBODY. I'M ALL WASHED UP. IT JUST AIN'T MY DAY.'

   2019 December 10, Yacht Club Games, "Story" (Reize), in Shovel Knight Showdown (version 4.1), Nintendo Switch

   No matter how much we tried, we were going to look washed-up.

   2025 December 22, Anna Silman, “This Is the Year Millennials Officially Got Old”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

   “Washed-up, loser lawyer!” That’s for Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland. What the phrase lacks in poetry it makes up for in pithiness.

   2026 February 16, Frank Bruni, quoting Pam Bondi, “Pam Bondi and the MAGA Brand of Insult Politics”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Synonyms: washed

alternative washed-up

1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of wash up