do the washing-up vs wash the dishes

Both phrases are correct and commonly used to refer to the task of cleaning dishes after a meal. 'Do the washing-up' is more commonly used in British English, while 'wash the dishes' is more common in American English. The choice between the two phrases depends on the regional variant of English being used.

Last updated: September 22, 2024 • 339 views

do the washing-up

This phrase is correct and commonly used in British English to refer to the task of cleaning dishes after a meal.

This phrase is commonly used in British English to mean cleaning dishes. It is often used in informal contexts.

Examples:

I'll do the washing-up after dinner.
Who's going to do the washing-up tonight?

Show examples from the web [+]

Apr 10, 2019 ... Have you ever tried to do the washing-up without using washing-up liquid? Could you clean a pot or a pan without using a scrubbing brush, a sponge, or a ...
4 days ago ... You do the washing-up and I'll do the drying. There's an enormous pile of washing-up in the sink. Compare. the dishes. SMART Vocabulary ...
The meaning of DO THE WASHING-UP is to wash the dishes. How to use do the washing-up in a sentence.
Jun 14, 2012 ... I thought this sentence(We have to do the washing-up.) is correct and okay to use but someone told me that it's not a correct setence.
Dec 11, 2018 ... Why is "the" mandatory in "do the washing-up"? I have to do (some) washing-up. (OK?)

Alternatives:

wash the dishes
clean the dishes
do the dishes
do the dishes
do the dishes

wash the dishes

This phrase is correct and commonly used in American English to refer to the task of cleaning dishes after a meal.

This phrase is commonly used in American English to mean cleaning dishes. It is often used in informal contexts.

Examples:

I'll wash the dishes after dinner.
Who's going to wash the dishes tonight?

Show examples from the web [+]

Mar 12, 2020 ... How to wash the dishes, and wash them well. Think of dishwashing as an opportunity for review: Do you need better pasta bowls? Was the broccoli ...
Sep 23, 2013 ... Are there any difference in the meaning between do/wash the dishes? Are they used in different situations or ...
This can contain the water from the faucet, and wash the dishes. To dispose of, lift it up and tip it down a laundry sink or the shower/bath drain.
May 29, 2014 ... I ´ve always used " wash the dishes" but I´d like to know if clean is OK, too. patsyarmando.

Alternatives:

do the washing-up
clean the dishes
do the dishes
do the dishes
do the dishes

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Amazing! I like that the editors are REAL people and not A.I., like some use. The editors actually see clients as real people and not just apart of their job, and it shows. 💖"
moggie April 2025
"TextRanch has been a great help to me, especially at work because I often email my boss."
Jhey April 2025
"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023