Wash
[wɒʃ] or [wɑʃ]
Definition
(noun.) the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water).
(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'.
(noun.) a watercolor made by applying a series of monochrome washes one over the other.
(noun.) a thin coat of water-base paint.
(noun.) the dry bed of an intermittent stream (as at the bottom of a canyon).
(verb.) to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking; 'The cat washes several times a day'.
(verb.) cleanse (one's body) with soap and water.
(verb.) form by erosion; 'The river washed a ravine into the mountainside'.
(verb.) 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'.
(verb.) clean with some chemical process.
(verb.) cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water; 'Wash the towels, please!'.
(verb.) separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals).
(verb.) move by or as if by water; 'The swollen river washed away the footbridge'.
(verb.) be capable of being washed; 'Does this material wash?'.
(verb.) apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to.
(verb.) admit to testing or proof; 'This silly excuse won't wash in traffic court'.
Typist: Remington--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To cleanse by ablution, or dipping or rubbing in water; to apply water or other liquid to for the purpose of cleansing; to scrub with water, etc., or as with water; as, to wash the hands or body; to wash garments; to wash sheep or wool; to wash the pavement or floor; to wash the bark of trees.
(v. t.) To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten; hence, to overflow or dash against; as, waves wash the shore.
(v. t.) To waste or abrade by the force of water in motion; as, heavy rains wash a road or an embankment.
(v. t.) To remove by washing to take away by, or as by, the action of water; to drag or draw off as by the tide; -- often with away, off, out, etc.; as, to wash dirt from the hands.
(v. t.) To cover with a thin or watery coat of color; to tint lightly and thinly.
(v. t.) To overlay with a thin coat of metal; as, steel washed with silver.
(v. i.) To perform the act of ablution.
(v. i.) To clean anything by rubbing or dipping it in water; to perform the business of cleansing clothes, ore, etc., in water.
(v. i.) To bear without injury the operation of being washed; as, some calicoes do not wash.
(v. i.) To be wasted or worn away by the action of water, as by a running or overflowing stream, or by the dashing of the sea; -- said of road, a beach, etc.
(n.) The act of washing; an ablution; a cleansing, wetting, or dashing with water; hence, a quantity, as of clothes, washed at once.
(n.) A piece of ground washed by the action of a sea or river, or sometimes covered and sometimes left dry; the shallowest part of a river, or arm of the sea; also, a bog; a marsh; a fen; as, the washes in Lincolnshire.
(n.) Substances collected and deposited by the action of water; as, the wash of a sewer, of a river, etc.
(n.) Waste liquid, the refuse of food, the collection from washed dishes, etc., from a kitchen, often used as food for pigs.
(n.) The fermented wort before the spirit is extracted.
(n.) A mixture of dunder, molasses, water, and scummings, used in the West Indies for distillation.
(n.) That with which anything is washed, or wetted, smeared, tinted, etc., upon the surface.
(n.) A liquid cosmetic for the complexion.
(n.) A liquid dentifrice.
(n.) A liquid preparation for the hair; as, a hair wash.
(n.) A medical preparation in a liquid form for external application; a lotion.
(n.) A thin coat of color, esp. water color.
(n.) A thin coat of metal laid on anything for beauty or preservation.
(n.) The blade of an oar, or the thin part which enters the water.
(n.) The backward current or disturbed water caused by the action of oars, or of a steamer's screw or paddles, etc.
(n.) The flow, swash, or breaking of a body of water, as a wave; also, the sound of it.
(n.) Ten strikes, or bushels, of oysters.
(a.) Washy; weak.
(a.) Capable of being washed without injury; washable; as, wash goods.
Edited by Dorothy
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Cleanse by ablution.[2]. Wet, moisten, bathe, lave.[3]. Stain, tint, color.[4]. Overlay (with a thin coat of metal), cover.
v. n. Perform ablution.
n. [1]. Ablution, lavation, washing, bathing.[2]. Bog, marsh, fen, quagmire, slough, morass, swamp.[3]. Lotion.[4]. Thin coating.
Typist: Rodger
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Lave, cleanse, bathe, rinse, absterge
ANT:Soil, foul, contaminate
Typist: Preston
Definition
v.t. to cleanse with water: to overflow: to waste away by the action of water: to cover with a thin coat of metal or paint: in mining to separate from earth by means of water.—v.i. to cleanse one's self to cleanse clothes with water: to stand water of clothes: (coll.) to stand the test.—n. a washing: the break of waves on the shore: the rough water left behind by a moving vessel: the shallow part of a river or arm of the sea: a marsh or fen: alluvial matter: waste liquor refuse of food &c.: that with which anything is washed: a lotion: a thin coat of paint metal &c.: (slang) a fictitious kind of sale of stock or other securities between parties of one interest or by a broker who is at once the buyer and the seller and who minds his own interest rather than that of his clients.—adj. Wash′able.—ns. Wash′-ball a ball of toilet-soap; Wash′-bā′sin -bowl Wash′hand bā′sin a bowl in which to wash face and hands; Wash′-board a corrugated board for rubbing clothes on in washing: a thin plank placed on a boat's gunwale to prevent the sea from breaking over: a board round the bottom of the walls of a room; Wash′-bott′le a bottle used by chemists for washing chemical preparations and instruments; Wash′-cloth a piece of cloth used in washing; Wash′-dirt earth rich enough in metal to pay for washing; Wash′er one who washes: a flat ring of iron or leather between the nave of a wheel and the linch-pin under the head of a screw &c.—v.t to lift with washers; Wash′erman a man who washes clothes esp. for hire:—fem. Wash′erwoman; Wash′-gild′ing a gilding made with an amalgam of gold from which the mercury is driven off by heat leaving a coating of gold; Wash′-house Wash′ing-house a house for washing clothes in; Wash′iness state of being watery weakness worthlessness; Wash′ing the act of cleansing by water: the clothes washed esp. at one time: what is washed; Was′hing-machine′ a machine for washing clothes; Wash′ing-pow′der a powdered preparation used in washing clothes; Wash′ing-up Wash′-up cleaning up; Wash′-leath′er split sheepskin prepared with oil in imitation of chamois and used for household purposes: buff leather for regimental belts.—adj. Wash′-off that will not stand washing.—ns. Wash′-out an erosion of earth by the action of water the hole made by such; Wash′-pot a vessel for washing; Wash′-stand Wash′hand stand a piece of furniture for holding ewer basin and other requisites for washing a person; Wash′-tub a tub for washing clothes.—adj. Wash′y watery moist: thin feeble.—n. Rain′-wash a washing away by the force of rain: a deposit formed by rain.
Inputed by Chris
Examples
- You ought to wash. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- I am sorry that Miss Sutherland has troubled you about this little matter, for I think it is far better not to wash linen of the sort in public. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Nobody got enough to eat; the bedclothes were too short and too thin; it was 28 degrees below zero, and the wash-water was frozen solid. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- The 'young gal' likewise occasioned me some uneasiness: not so much by neglecting to wash the plates, as by breaking them. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- I wash my hands of the dinner party, and since you have asked Laurie on your own responsibility, you may just take care of him. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- They were about the size of those seen in old-fashioned country hotels for holding the wash-bowl and pitcher. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- The murderer when he is at home can wash his hands. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- His arms were wet and dirty, and he washed them over the side. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- The Mongol wave had washed over Poland, but had never subjugated it. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- About six o'clock, the hour which called up the household, I went out to the court, and washed my face in its cold, fresh well-water. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- You must be washed out. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Similarly, the soil is formed from the overhanging mountains; it is washed as sediment into the sea; it is elevated, after consolidation, into the overhanging mountains. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Some of the young ladies washed the lettuces for him, and sliced them under his directions. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- The hands may gather germs from any substances or objects with which they come in contact; hence the hands should be washed with soap and water, and especially before eating. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The exultation and joy of the Pickwickians knew no bounds, when their patience and assiduity, their washing and scraping, were crowned with success. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Painting, chopping wood, hammering, plowing, washing, scrubbing, sewing, are all forms of work. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- I can do dress-making very well; and I understand fine washing and ironing; and between us we can find something to live on. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- The washing-book was brought in by Rosanna Spearman. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- When they get done washing, they sit in the alleys and nurse their cubs. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Butter already rancid can be improved by treatment with a stronger solution (8 drachms of acid to 1 gallon of water), followed by washing in pure water. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- The strongest washing powder is soda, and this cheap form is as good as any of the more expensive preparations sold under fancy names. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Vicksburg is built on this high land where the Mississippi washes the base of the hill. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Mouth washes are a valuable addition to the toilet as they assist to harden and heal the gums, cleanse the mouth and purify the breath. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper,' said Mr. Bumble. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- It is only cotton, I alleged, hurriedly; and cheaper, and washes better than any other colour. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- But if cotton is used instead of wool, the acquired color is very faint, and washes off readily. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- They ain't Pills, or Hair-Washes, or Invigorating Nervous Essences, to be puffed in that way! Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
Inputed by Kari