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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

wash its face en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (informal) To pay for itself; to make enough revenue to cover the costs of its production.
    • The Axeman movie had barely washed its face at the box office, and was already expected to suffer a reboot. 2017, Tim Walker, Smoke Over Malibu, page 115:
    • At a cost of around $130 million, the film needed to take at least $260 worldwide to wash its face at the box-office. 2014, Mark Kermode, Hatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics, page 259:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
washing its face Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
washes its face Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
washed its face Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
washed its face Tense=Past lexicographic