Hotwash

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Discussions and evaluations of an agency's (or multiple agencies') performance following an exercise, training session, or major event.

Etymology

From hot + wash. Some sources say this refers to the practice by some soldiers of dousing their weapons in extremely hot water as a means of removing grit and residue after firing. Others interpret "hot" as referring to immediacy (not temperature), and "wash" to be used metaphorically (compare come out in the wash).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.