wash
/wɒʃ
/verb
1 [with object] Clean with water and, typically, soap or detergent: Auntie Lou had washed all their clothes he washed down the woodwork in the kitchen...
- The only way I have found to get my spectacles really clean is to wash them in soap and warm water.
- I lathered up and washed myself with honeysuckle-scented soap.
- The plaintiffs had it cleaned and washed down on two occasions to get concrete and efflorescence off the walls.
Synonyms
clean, cleanse, sponge, scrub, wipe, scour
literary lave
clean, cleanse, sponge, scrub, mop, hose down, squeegee, sluice (down), swill (down), douse, swab (down), flush, disinfect
launder, clean, rinse (out);
dry-clean
literary lave
shampoo, lather, clean
1.1 [no object] Clean oneself with soap and water: he reached for the soap and began to wash...
- They were told to wash with soap and water and were sent home.
- I really feel in this day and age, everyone should be able to drink and wash in clean water.
- She lathered her hands up with the rose smelling soap and began to wash.
Synonyms
clean oneself, have a wash, wash oneself;
bathe, bath, shower, have a bath/shower, take a bath/shower, soak, douche, freshen up;
North American wash up
formal or humorous perform one's ablutions
dated make one's toilet
1.2(With reference to a stain or dirt) remove or be removed by cleaning with water and detergent: [with object and adverbial]: they have to keep washing the mould off the walls figurative all that hate can’t wash away the guilt [no object, with adverbial]: the dirt on his clothes would easily wash out...
- Time has worn it down and dirt has been washed away, but stains persist.
- In time, by coming clean, he may eventually wash some of the dirt off himself.
- For example, enzymes in laundry detergents break down dirt and stains so that they may be easily washed away, even in cold water.
Synonyms
remove by washing, sponge off, scrub off, wipe off, rinse off, remove, flush out/away, expunge, eradicate
1.3 [no object, with adverbial] (Of fabric, a garment, or dye) withstand cleaning to a specified degree without shrinking or fading: a linen-mix yarn which washes well
1.4 [no object] Do one’s laundry: I need someone to cook and wash for me...
- One night I was in the laundry room reading and washing and Karen came in with a basket of clothes.
- For the first time in their lives I am cooking, washing and taking them to swimming at 5 o' clock in the morning every single day rather than once in a while.
- What do you do when you're not ironing, washing, cooking, and taking the children to and from school?
1.5 literary Wet or moisten (something) thoroughly: you are beautiful with your face washed with rain...
- A sunny, rain washed morning on the cusp between summer and autumn is pretty close to heaven in my book, and a wonderful, crispy-clean way to start the day.
- Ministers and officers were sitting at a long table in the conference hall, a dull rain sorrowfully washing large windows.
- Relief finally came three weeks later when nearly an inch of rain fell, washing the city and stabilizing the ash.
2 [with object and adverbial of direction] (Of flowing water) carry (someone or something) in a particular direction: floods washed away the bridges...
- Eighteen people were missing after flood waters washed a bus off a national highway on Thursday.
- While trying to swim across to safety six of them were washed away by strong water current.
- After rain, for example, it was relatively easy to find obsidian as the sand that covered it was washed away by the water.
Synonyms
sweep, carry, convey, transport, move, deliver, deposit, drive
erode, abrade, wear away, corrode, eat away, eat into, denude, grind down, undermine
2.1 [no object, with adverbial of direction] Be carried by flowing water: an oil slick washed up on the beaches...
- Disturbed by the impact of continual foot traffic, easily erodable soil washes away.
- One forestry official pointed out that mountain forests were essential to prevent soil washing down the steep slopes in heavy rains.
- For years there has been a problem with whales washing onto beaches.
2.2 [no object, with adverbial of direction] (Especially of waves) sweep or splash in a particular direction: the sea began to wash along the decks...
- The waves gently washed ashore, splashing on the rocks.
- After several attempts and with large waves washing through the lifeboat, Crewman Rogers managed to bring three people over the bow.
- In Thailand, 30-foot waves washed ashore in the resort area of Phuket.
Synonyms
splash, lap, splosh, dash, break, beat, strike, sweep, move, surge, ripple, roll, flow
literary plash, lave
2.3 [with object] (Of a river, sea, or lake) flow through or lap against (a country, coast, etc.): offshore islands washed by warm blue seas...
- The Atlantic Ocean washes Spain's north coast, the far northwest corner adjacent to Portugal, and the far southwestern zone between the Portuguese border and the Strait of Gibraltar.
- The Gulf Stream stopped washing the shores of northern Europe with the warm waters of the Caribbean thirteen years ago.
- For warm-water swimming you have to take a trip to the eastern coast, which is washed by the Indian Ocean, half an hour or so away.
2.4 [with object] Sift metallic particles from (earth or gravel) by running water through it: the sand has been churned and washed by miners
3 [with object] Brush with a thin coat of dilute paint or ink: the walls were washed with shades of umber...
- The outside was washed in red paint, which was chipping due to age and weather conditions.
Synonyms
paint, colour, apply paint to, tint, highlight, shade, dye, stain, distemper;
coat, cover
3.1 (wash something with) Coat inferior metal with (a film of gold or silver from a solution): copper washed with silver
Synonyms
plate, cover, coat, overlay, laminate, veneer, glaze, gild, silver
4 [no object, with negative] informal Seem convincing or genuine: charm won’t wash with this crew
Synonyms
be accepted, be acceptable, be plausible, be convincing, hold up, hold water, stand up, bear scrutiny, stand the test of time, be believable/credible, pass muster, prove true, make sense
informal stick
noun
1 [usually in singular] An act of washing something or an instance of being washed: her hair needs a wash...
- Today I got up, used the toilet, had a wash, cleaned my teeth and ate my breakfast.
- Give that girl a bath, or at the very least a hair wash, some elocution lessons and the imagination to ask questions beyond the banal.
- They were very dirty and needed a good wash, the blankets.
Synonyms
clean, cleaning, cleansing;
shower, douche, dip, bath, soak
formal or humorous ablutions
rare lavation
1.1A quantity of clothes needing to be or just having been washed: she hung out her Tuesday wash...
- She kept picking my clean sports clothes out of the wash.
- Kathryn was cackling happily as she dropped Olivia's purple sock into the wash with her brother's white underclothes.
- I am ‘punished’ for not doing the wash by having only dirty clothes to wear.
Synonyms
laundry, washing;
dirty washing, dirty clothes, soiled linen
British dated bagwash
2 [in singular] The water or air disturbed by a moving boat or aircraft: the wash of a smart motor boat...
- Another went racing across the wash of the boat, its sail and sickle shaped tail leaving no doubt as to its identity.
- Stand aft to look down on the wake frothing up from the propeller wash.
- When we land near water, the wash from the blades moves them around like floating logs.
Synonyms
backwash, backflow, wake, trail, train, path;
churning, disturbance
2.1The breaking of waves on a shore: the wash of waves on the pebbled beach...
- Above him, sea birds wheeled and called and although he couldn't see a beach, he could hear the gentle wash of waves on the shore.
- But there is a Caribbean calm, intense in the tropical sun, and the sedative wash of the waves.
- The seafront rooms hear a constant wash of incoming waves, but for most people this becomes a sleeping pill in the end.
Synonyms
surge, flow, swell, welling, sweep, undulation, rise and fall, ebb and flow, roll, splash
3 (the Wash) An inlet of the North Sea on the east coast of England between Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
4 [mass noun] A medicinal or cleansing solution applied to the skin: citrus-scented body wash...
- Tired of traipsing around the globe with shampoo, body wash, face cleanser, and 1,200 other grooming products?
- Shampoo, toothpaste and body wash contain harmful toxins too.
- The range includes body wash and deodorant in addition to eau de toilette.
Synonyms
lotion, salve, application, preparation, rinse, liquid, liniment, embrocation, emulsion
5A layer of paint or metal spread thinly on a surface: the walls were covered with a pale lemon wash...
- Her variegated surfaces may be opaque or layered as transparent washes, glazed or scraped, scumbled, wiped down or sanded.
- The moon hung in the sky nearly full, spreading a luminous wash across the pale landscape.
- Both cabinets are made of sycamore entirely ebonized, and the panels are painted with washes of brown and amber, so that the golden color of the close-grained wood shows through.
Synonyms
paint, stain, varnish, coat, layer, film, overlay
6 [mass noun] Silt or gravel carried by a stream or river and deposited as sediment.
6.1 [count noun] A sandbank exposed only at low tide.
7 [mass noun] Kitchen slops and other food waste fed to pigs.
8 [mass noun] Malt fermenting in preparation for distillation.Here they found three stills, two still heads and two worms, with five barrels of wash ready for distillation, and a quantity of yeast.
9 [in singular] North American informal A situation or result that is of no benefit to either of two opposing sides: the plan’s impact on jobs would be a wash, creating as many as it costs...
- If the matchup problems he creates can offset the matchup liabilities he endures on defense, he could play many opposing centers to a wash or better.
- Together, the two films and DVD presentations cancel each other out, resulting in a wash for a recommendation.
- However, I think we have a ways to go in terms of convincing actuaries that in fact e-mail is at worst a wash and probably a benefit.
Phrases
come out in the wash
in the wash
wash one's dirty linen (or laundry) in public
wash one's hands
wash one's hands of
wash one's mouth out (with soap and water)
Phrasal verbs
wash something down
wash out (or wash someone out)
wash something out
wash up
wash over
Origin
Old English wæscan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wassen, German waschen, also to water.
An Old English word that is related to water. Someone who is washed up is no longer effective or successful—they are like something thrown up on to a beach. The first example of the expression, from the 1920s in the USA, states that it is stage slang. Similarly ineffective or disappointing is a wash-out, recorded from around 1900, which in RAF slang was specifically a person who failed a training course. To wash your hands is a euphemism for going to the lavatory—a male equivalent of powdering your nose, used since the 1930s. To wash your hands of, or disclaim responsibility for, is a biblical allusion to the Gospel of Matthew. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea who presided at the trial of Jesus, was unwilling to authorize his crucifixion, but saw that the crowd were intent on his death. ‘He [Pilate] took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person.’