noun
whitewash
WYT-wosh
noun
1
A cheap white paint made from lime or chalk mixed with water, used to coat walls and fences.
"The barn was covered in peeling whitewash."
2
An attempt to cover up mistakes or wrongdoing and make something look better than it is.
"Critics called the internal report a whitewash designed to protect the board."
3
A total, one-sided victory in which the losing side fails to score at all.
"England completed a 5-0 whitewash of the series."
verb
1
To paint something with whitewash.
"They whitewashed the cottage every spring."
2
To conceal unpleasant facts or wrongdoing in order to protect someone's reputation.
"The documentary was accused of whitewashing the company's environmental record."
"History books once whitewashed the more brutal parts of the era."
How to Use Whitewash
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishLiterally, cheap white paint; figuratively, a cover-up that makes something look cleaner than it really is.
Common mistake
The film-casting sense (casting white actors in roles meant for people of colour) is a distinct, more recent use — context usually makes clear which sense is meant.
Common pairings
whitewash a scandal
accused of a whitewash
whitewash the walls
Word Forms
whitewashed past tense, whitewashes plural, whitewashes singular
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The barn was covered in peeling _____.
Etymology
The noun combines white with wash; the verb followed from it, first meaning "to paint white" and later picking up the figurative sense of covering up faults.