wash

/wɔʃ/

Academic

Friendly

Verb

to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking
- The cat washes several times a day
wash or flow against
- the waves laved the shore
make moist
- The dew moistened the meadows
form by erosion
- The river washed a ravine into the mountainside
remove by the application of water or other liquid and soap or some other cleaning agent
- he washed the dirt from his coat
- The nurse washed away the blood
- Can you wash away the spots on the windows?
- he managed to wash out the stains
apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to
separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals)
admit to testing or proof
- This silly excuse won't wash in traffic court
be capable of being washed
- Does this material wash?
move by or as if by water
- The swollen river washed away the footbridge
cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water
- Wash the towels, please!
cleanse (one's body) with soap and water
clean with some chemical process

Noun

any enterprise in which losses and gains cancel out
- at the end of the year the accounting department showed that it was a wash
garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering
a watercolor made by applying a series of monochrome washes one over the other
the flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller
the erosive process of washing away soil or gravel by water (as from a roadway)
- from the house they watched the washout of their newly seeded lawn by the water
the dry bed of an intermittent stream (as at the bottom of a canyon)
the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water)
a thin coat of water-base paint

wash ▶