26984 words

wash

22 definitions • 35 examples
1
to clean something using water:

Examples:

wash your hair/hands
wash the car/clothes/floor
These sheets need washing.
wash something out I'll wash the bottle out (= clean its inside) and use it again.
2
to clean yourself, or a part of yourself, with water and usually soap:

Examples:

I'd like to wash before dinner.
3
If a particular material or piece of clothing washes well, it is not damaged or spoiled by repeated washing:

Examples:

We use a linen-mix fabric, which washes well and is soft to the touch.
4
If water washes somewhere, it flows there, usually repeatedly:

Examples:

wash over She stood on the shore and let the water wash over her tired feet.
5
(of the sea) to carry something or someone to or away from a place:

Examples:

Overnight the waves had washed up a lot of rubbish.
6
the action of washing something or a part of your body:

Examples:

good wash Those curtains need a good (= careful) wash.
Erik needed a good wash after playing in the garden.
7
all the clothes, sheets, etc. that are washed together, especially in a washing machine:

Examples:

put sth in the wash Can I put this shirt in (with) the white wash?
8
→

Examples:

I used to do the wash in the sink until I got a new washing machine.
9
to wash your body or a part of it:

Examples:

I need to have a wash before dinner
10

Examples:

Are you doing a wash tonight?
11
a thin layer of water or paint mixed with water, especially one that is brushed lightly over a painting to make the lines softer:

Examples:

a blue wash/ a wash of blue
Just before the paint dries, I give it a light wash.
12
an event or situation in which positive and negative things balance each other:

Examples:

If pollution controls are enforced here, the factories will move to where they're allowed to pollute, so it'll be a wash as far as clear air goes.
13
(the sound made) when the sea moves against land, etc.:

Examples:

Outside the house, she could hear the gentle wash of the waves on the beach.
14
all the clothes, sheets, etc. that are washed together, especially in a washing machine:

Examples:

put sth in the wash Can I put this shirt in (with) the white wash?
in the wash "Where's my pink shirt?" "It's in the wash" (= being washed or in a pile of clothes that is going to be washed).
I hung the wash out to dry.
15
→

Examples:

I used to do the wash in the sink until I got a new washing machine.
If you throw a cup of vinegar in the wash, it'll make your clothes smell fresh.
Uh oh, I think a pen went through the wash.
16
used with adjectives and nouns to form verbs that refer to the actions of an organization, etc. that tries to make people believe that they are helping or protecting someone or something, when really they are not doing this or are doing something harmful:

Examples:

A business or organization is bluewashing when it makes misleading claims about how socially responsible its products or services are.
The Gay Pride organizers refused to let the event be pinkwashed by large corporations.
17
to make something or yourself clean, or to become clean, using water and usually soap:

Examples:

[ T ] Alex washed his face and combed his hair.
[ T ] I hate washing dishes.
18
(esp. of water) to flow or to cause to flow, often carrying something along:

Examples:

[ I ] Waves washed against the boat.
[ T ] Heavy rains always wash the sand down the hill.
19
If something is washed away, it is carried off by heavy rain or a flood:

Examples:

[ M ] Even trees and cars were washed away in this flood.
20
If something washes up or washes ashore, water has moved it there:

Examples:

[ M ] That storm washed a lot of crabs up on the shore.
21
an event or situation in which positive and negative things balance each other:

Examples:

I sold my car for about what it cost me, so it was a wash.
22
an act of washing, or clothing, sheets, and other cloth items being cleaned together:

Examples:

[ C usually sing ] I went days without a wash or a change of clothes.
[ U ] She did a load of wash and hung it up to dry.

Navigation