washverb
uk/wɒʃ/us/wɑːʃ/wash verb (CLEAN)
A1 [ T ] to clean something using water:
A1 [ I ] US also wash up to clean yourself, or a part of yourself, with water and usually soap:
If a particular material or piece of clothing washes well, it is not damaged or spoiled by repeated washing.
More examples
- How often do you wash your hair?
- He hardly ever washes the dishes and he rarely, if ever, does any cleaning.
- This T-shirt has been washed so many times that it's lost its shape.
- Armed with a bucket and a mop, I started washing the floor.
- The fruit is washed and then graded by size.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Cleaning generally
- brush sb/sth off
- cleaner
- cleaning
- cleanse
- cleansing
- decontaminate
- groom
- purification
- purify
- rinse
- rinse sth out
- scour
- scrub
- sluice
- sluice sth down/out
- sponge
- sweep
- wash (sth) out
- wipe sth down
- wipe sth up
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
wash verb (FLOW)
[ I usually + adv/prep ] literary If water washes somewhere, it flows there, usually repeatedly:
(of the sea) to carry something or someone to or away from a place:
Idiom(s)
Phrasal verb(s)
washnoun
uk/wɒʃ/us/wɑːʃ/wash noun (CLEANING)
A2 [ C usually singular ] the action of washing something or a part of your body:
all the clothes, sheets, etc. that are washed together, especially in a washing machine:
mainly US → washing
to wash your body or a part of it:
to clean clothes, sheets, etc., usually in a washing machine:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Cleaning generally
- brush sb/sth off
- cleaner
- cleaning
- cleanse
- cleansing
- decontaminate
- groom
- purification
- purify
- rinse
- rinse sth out
- scour
- scrub
- sluice
- sluice sth down/out
- sponge
- sweep
- wash (sth) out
- wipe sth down
- wipe sth up
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
wash noun (THIN LAYER)
[ C ] a thin layer of water or paint mixed with water, especially one that is brushed lightly over a painting to make the lines softer:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Painting, drawing & printing
- airbrush
- brushstroke
- brushwork
- chiaroscuro
- colour
- colour sth in
- draft
- drew
- engraving
- etching
- foreshorten
- freehand
- rough
- rough sth in
- rule
- shade sth in
- stencil
- stipple
- tempera
- trace
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wash noun (EVEN SITUATION)
[ C usually singular ] US an event or situation in which positive and negative things balance each other:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Balance and imbalance
- accord
- accord with sth
- align
- alignment
- balance (sth) out/up
- balance of power
- balanced
- equilibrium
- harmonious
- harmonize
- harmony
- imbalance
- jar
- off balance
- offset
- on an even keel idiom
- one man's loss is another man's gain idiom
- realign
- square (sth) with sth
- symmetry
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wash noun (FLOW)
[ S ] literary (the sound made) when the sea moves against land, etc.:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Sounds made by objects, movement or impact
- clash
- crackling
- ding
- ding-a-ling
- ding-dong
- fizz
- hoot
- jangling
- knock
- pip
- rasp
- ringer
- rumbling
- sing
- slam
- swish
- thud
- twang
- whine
- whistle
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