Washed
Etymology
From “washed up,” the older idiom for someone finished or spent — the image of debris washed ashore and left there. In sports culture and African American Vernacular English the phrase was clipped to “washed,” a blunter and more current put-down. It spread through sports commentary and online trash talk in the 2010s to any domain where someone has lost their edge.
adjective · /WOSHT/
Past one’s prime; no longer as good at something as you once were.
What it names
It names decline relative to a former self, not mere lack of skill. Calling someone washed concedes that they were genuinely good once — which is what gives the word its sting. It is a verdict about a trajectory, aimed at athletes, performers, or anyone whose peak is visibly behind them.
Example
He still talks like a phenom, but honestly his last two seasons say he’s washed.
Related idea
Not the same as merely bad: washed implies real former ability, so it is a comment on decline rather than on never having been good.