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Nautical.

just level with or scarcely above the surface of the water, so that waves break over the top.
overflowing with water, as the upper deck of a ship in a heavy sea.

covered with water.
washing about; tossed about by the waves.
covered, filled, or crowded:
streets awash with shoppers; a garden awash in brilliant colors.
a river in E Ethiopia, flowing NE through the Great Rift Valley to near the Djibouti border. 500 miles (805 km) long.
Contemporary Examples

“Beware” by Big Sean is awash in technicolor static, colorful sceneries overlaid over Big Sean.
Lady Gaga, Avril Lavigne & More Best Music Videos of the Week (VIDEO) Victoria Kezra August 24, 2013

The place was awash with water, and we couldn’t see a thing and we couldn’t hear anything above the small-arms and artillery fire.
Navy Seal Training: The Start of Hell Week Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson May 7, 2011

From the 80s onwards, after manufacturing collapsed, the inner cities were awash with hard drugs.
A Tinderbox Waiting for a Match Gavin Knight August 10, 2011

The Mideast is awash now in popular awakenings, always in oil and, often overlooked, in arms.
Mideast Arms Sales Not So Bad Leslie H. Gelb April 11, 2011

The whole scene is so awash with heavy-handed religious imagery you can probably just skip church on Sunday.
‘Resurrection’ Is TV’s Silliest Show and Probably Dead on Arrival Kevin Fallon March 6, 2014

Historical Examples

There was no absolutely naked rock near him, but there seemed to be acres of that which might be almost said to be awash.
Jack Tier or The Florida Reef James Fenimore Cooper

Because it’s awash an’ visible only at the fall o’ the spring tides.
The Grain Ship Morgan Robertson

The quarter-deck was all awash, and we must close the companion doors.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson – Swanston Edition Vol. 13 (of 25) Robert Louis Stevenson

The boat was some fifty yards from land by now, and was awash in a broken current.
Hurricane Island H. B. Marriott Watson

I knew that by the look of the water, and as we neared the bank I saw it was all awash and without the vestige of an opening.
The Riddle of the Sands Erskine Childers

adverb, adjective (postpositive) (nautical)
at a level even with the surface of the sea
washed over by the waves
adj.

1825, originally nautical, “on the level of, flush with,” from a- (1) “on” + wash (n.). Figurative use by 1912.

adjective

Full of a liquid; full to surfeit: Dr Johnson was awash in tea, drinking thirty cups each day
Overwhelmed with; drowning in: The dean was awash in niggling student complaints

Related Terms

decks awash