Colonial. [f. verbal phr. to wash away: see WASH v. 15.] The removal by flood of a portion of a hillside; the destruction of a portion of railway or road track by flood; a hole or breach produced by the washing away of soil.
1880. Globe (Atchison, KS), 28 June, 4/3. There had been a wash-away of nearly fifty feet in five or six days.
1893. Westm. Gaz., 7 March, 8/3. The new railway also suffered severely, and traffic has been interfered with owing to several washaways.
1896. Daily News, 18 July, 8/5. In several parts of the mountain where the washaways appear, the lode can be seen right down to the present surface.
1906. Times, 18 Dec., 5/2. A number of washaways have taken place, and a mail train was derailed.
