|
To clean with water and, typically, soap or detergent
“Some households have someone come in every day whose job it is to wash the clothes.”
To clean or bathe oneself with soap and water
“Despite the coolness of that morning, he was ordered to wash with soap under the cold water.”
To clean by scrubbing or wiping
“Armed with a large rag and some Windex, I would proceed to wash the filthy windows of my apartment.”
(with reference to a stain or dirt) To remove or be removed by cleaning with water and detergent
“She held up his head with one hand and with the other she used the showerhead to wash some of the dirt out of his hair.”
To be, or cause to be, wet or waterlogged
“Heavy rain would wash the valley for days on end during the months of autumn.”
To move or be moved in a particular direction by water
“Despite their efforts and curses, the winds and the rogue waves wash them past any seemingly habitable islands.”
To flow in a stream
“Pull the plug and let it all wash down the drain.”
(especially of waves) To sweep or splash in a particular direction
“Look for any areas that are murky, perhaps close to in-flowing streams, or where waves wash against a shoreline.”
To seem true, convincing or genuine
“Giorgio's theories about ancient aliens are unlikely to wash with learned historians.”
To brush with a thin coat of dilute paint or ink
“The outside wall was deteriorating, and we would decide to wash it with a fresh coat of paint.”
To coat with a film of metal such as gold or silver
“The ancient rulers of this land would wash their scepters with gold.”
(wash over) To fill or overcome (with an emotion)
“The melancholy would wash over her, and a tear or two would drip from her eye.”
(rare) To agitate, or mix up, a liquid
“She would absentmindedly wash her tea by tipping her cup.”
To cleanse, typically by removing contaminants from
To spread or pervade throughout
To be sensible, coherent, reasonable
To enhance the attractiveness or quality of something
To process or manipulate so as to appear legal or legitimate
To change an animal hide into leather by soaking it in tannic acid
To rush or surge through someone or something
To wash gravel in a pan to separate out (gold)
To attend to one's appearance, typically one's hair
To move or drift along the surface of a liquid or in the air
An act of cleaning something or an instance of being cleaned
“In the sink was a pile of dishes in need of a wash.”
An act of cleaning oneself
“I finally arrived home and went straight to the bathroom for a wash.”
A quantity of clothes needing to be, or just having been, washed
“Kathryn was cackling happily as she dropped Olivia's purple sock into the wash with her brother's white underclothes.”
The breaking of waves on a shore
“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.”
A layer of paint or metal spread thinly on a surface
“A watercolor wash is a fluid made up of water in which the color particles brushed from cakes of pigment are suspended.”
The water or air disturbed by a moving boat or aircraft
“Another went racing across the wash of the boat, its sail and sickle-shaped tail leaving no doubt as to its identity.”
The normally dry bed of an intermittent or ephemeral stream
“This concentration of life is the result of the greater availability of water, even though the wash may carry surface water for only a few hours a year.”
A medicinal or cleansing solution
“She reached over to the small counter in the shower and picked up a bottle of body wash, scrubbing it gently over her skin.”
An area of permanently waterlogged land
A shade or variety of a colour
A stalemate, or a confrontation between two or more sides that no side can win
One who, or that which, refines
The lather or suds that come from washing with soap
Kitchen refuse and scraps of waste food mixed with water for feeding to pigs
A gurgling sound, such as that of water flowing
Related Words and Phrases
|
