brush

verb

/brʌʃ/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they brush	/brʌʃ/ /brʌʃ/
he / she / it brushes	/ˈbrʌʃɪz/ /ˈbrʌʃɪz/
past simple brushed	/brʌʃt/ /brʌʃt/
past participle brushed	/brʌʃt/ /brʌʃt/
-ing form brushing	/ˈbrʌʃɪŋ/ /ˈbrʌʃɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

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[transitive] to clean, polish or make something smooth with a brush
- brush something to brush your hair/teeth
- to brush your shoes
- brush something + adj. A tiled floor is easy to brush clean.
Topics Appearancea2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- carefully
- quickly
- slowly
- …
preposition
- at
phrases
- brush something clean
See full entry
[transitive, intransitive] to remove or try to remove something from a place or surface with a brush or with your hand
- brush something + adv./prep. He brushed the dirt off his jacket.
- He pulled out a handkerchief and brushed away the tears.
- Gail brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.
- She brushed the fly away.
- brush + adv./prep. Lucille brushed at the blood on his jacket.
Extra Examples
- He brushed the mud from his coat.
- She brushed away her tears.
- Her hair was brushed back in a pony tail.
- She brushed her hair out of her eyes.
- I brushed the crumbs off the table.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- carefully
- quickly
- slowly
- …
preposition
- at
phrases
- brush something clean
See full entry
[transitive] to put something, for example oil, milk or egg, on something using a brush
- brush A with B Brush the pastry with beaten egg.
- brush B over, on, etc. A Brush beaten egg over the pastry.
[intransitive, transitive] to touch somebody/something lightly while moving close to them/it
- brush by/past somebody/something She brushed past him.
- brush against somebody/something His hand accidentally brushed against hers.
- brush something The leaves brushed her cheek.
- brush something with something He brushed her lips with his.
Extra Examples
- I hardly noticed the man who brushed past me in the corridor.
- She brushed by him and dashed up the stairs.
- She carefully avoided brushing against the man sitting beside her at the table.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- gently
- lightly
- softly
- …
preposition
- against
- by
- past
- …
See full entry

Word Originverb Middle English: noun from Old French broisse; verb partly from Old French brosser ‘to sweep’.

brush

noun

/brʌʃ/

Idioms

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[countable] an object made of short stiff hairs (called bristles) or wires set in a block of wood or plastic, usually attached to a handle. Brushes are used for many different jobs, such as cleaning, painting and tidying your hair.
- a paintbrush
- a hairbrush
- a toothbrush
- brush strokes (= the marks left by a brush when painting)
- a dustpan and brush
- Apply the paint with a fine brush.
see also scrubbing brush
Extra Examples
- Remove all the rust with a wire brush.
- Scrub the wood thoroughly with water and a stiff brush.
- She ran a brush through her hair.
- She took a can of paint and dipped her brush in it.
- The artist has used tiny brush strokes.
Topics Houses and homesa2, Arta2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- stiff
- stiff-bristled
- fine
- …
verb + brush
- apply something with
- use
- wield
- …
brush + noun
- stroke
preposition
- with a/the brush
phrases
- a brush and comb
- a comb and brush
- a dustpan and brush
- …
See full entry
[singular] an act of brushing
- to give your teeth a good brush
[singular] a light touch made in passing something/somebody
- the brush of his lips on her cheek
[countable] brush with somebody/something a short unfriendly meeting with somebody; an occasion when you nearly experience something unpleasant
- She had a nasty brush with her boss this morning.
- In his job he's had frequent brushes with death.
- a brush with the law
[uncountable] land covered by small trees or bushes
- a brush fire
Topics Geographyc2
[countable] the tail of a fox

Word Originnoun senses 1 to 4 and noun sense 6 Middle English: noun from Old French broisse; verb partly from Old French brosser ‘to sweep’. noun sense 5 Middle English: from Old French broce, perhaps based on Latin bruscum, denoting an excrescence on a maple.

Idioms

be tarred with the same brush (as somebody)

to be thought to have the same faults, etc. as somebody else

daft as a brush

(British English, informal) very silly

paint something with a broad brush

to describe something in a general way, ignoring the details