What is the meaning of whitewash?

noun

  • A defeat in which the losing person or team fails to score.
  • Wash consisting of lime and size in water; used for whitening walls and other surfaces.
  • A specious or deceptive clearing that attempts to gloss over failings and defects.

verb

  • Cover up a misdemeanor, fault, or error.
    • usage: "Let's not whitewash the crimes of Stalin"; "She tried to gloss over her mistakes"
  • Cover with whitewash.
    • usage: "whitewash walls"
  • Exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data. .
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). whitewash. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/whitewash/definitions/1193967
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "whitewash" http://smartdefine.org/whitewash/definitions/1193967 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, whitewash, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/whitewash/definitions/1193967>.
MLAWordNet. "whitewash" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/whitewash/definitions/1193967>
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