Library / English Dictionary

WASH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The work of cleansing (usually with soap and water)

Synonyms:

lavation; wash; washing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

work (activity directed toward making or doing something)

Meronyms (parts of "wash"):

rinse; rinsing (the removal of soap with clean water in the final stage of washing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wash"):

bathing; washup (the act of washing yourself (or another person))

ablution (the ritual washing of a priest's hands or of sacred vessels)

dishwashing; washup (the act of washing dishes)

washing-up (the washing of dishes etc after a meal)

window-washing (the activity of washing windows)

rinse (washing lightly without soap)

soak; soaking (washing something by allowing it to soak)

laundering (washing clothes and bed linens)

Derivation:

wash (to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking)

wash (cleanse (one's body) with soap and water)

wash (cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water)

wash (be capable of being washed)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any enterprise in which losses and gains cancel out

Example:

at the end of the year the accounting department showed that it was a wash

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

business activity; commercial activity (activity undertaken as part of a commercial enterprise)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering

Synonyms:

laundry; wash; washables; washing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

garment (an article of clothing)

household linen; white goods (drygoods for household use that are typically made of white cloth)

Derivation:

wash (clean with some chemical process)

wash (cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A watercolor made by applying a series of monochrome washes one over the other

Synonyms:

wash; wash drawing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

water-color; water-colour; watercolor; watercolour (a painting produced with watercolors)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A thin coat of water-base paint

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

water-base paint (paint in which water is used as the vehicle)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wash"):

blackwash (a wash that colors a surface black)

calcimine (a water-base paint containing zinc oxide and glue and coloring; used as a wash for walls and ceilings)

color wash; colour wash (a wash of whitewash or other water-base paint tinted with a colored pigment)

whitewash (wash consisting of lime and size in water; used for whitening walls and other surfaces)

Derivation:

wash (apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The dry bed of an intermittent stream (as at the bottom of a canyon)

Synonyms:

dry wash; wash

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

creek bed; streambed (a channel occupied (or formerly occupied) by a stream)

Domain region:

West; western United States (the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller

Synonyms:

airstream; backwash; race; slipstream; wash

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

flow (any uninterrupted stream or discharge)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The erosive process of washing away soil or gravel by water (as from a roadway)

Example:

from the house they watched the washout of their newly seeded lawn by the water

Synonyms:

wash; washout

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

soil erosion (the washing away of soil by the flow of water)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wash"):

rain-wash (the washing away of soil or other loose material by rain)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

To cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking

Example:

The cat washes several times a day

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

clean; cleanse (clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing)

Verb group:

lave; wash (cleanse (one's body) with soap and water)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

wash (the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cleanse (one's body) with soap and water

Synonyms:

lave; wash

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

clean; cleanse (clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing)

Verb group:

wash (to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

hush (wash by removing particles)

shampoo (use shampoo on (hair))

gargle; rinse (rinse one's mouth and throat with mouthwash)

scrub; scrub up (wash thoroughly)

sponge down (wash with a sponge)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

They wash

They wash themselves

Also:

wash up (wash one's face and hands)

Derivation:

wash; washing (the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Wash or flow against

Example:

the waves laved the shore

Synonyms:

lap; lave; wash

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

flow (cover or swamp with water)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make moist

Example:

The dew moistened the meadows

Synonyms:

dampen; moisten; wash

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

wet (cause to become wet)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

humidify; moisturise; moisturize (make (more) humid)

baste (cover with liquid before cooking)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Form by erosion

Example:

The river washed a ravine into the mountainside

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

eat away; erode; fret (remove soil or rock)

Verb group:

wash (move by or as if by water)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Remove by the application of water or other liquid and soap or some other cleaning agent

Example:

he managed to wash out the stains

Synonyms:

wash; wash away; wash off; wash out

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)

Verb group:

rinse; wash (clean with some chemical process)

wash out (wash free from unwanted substances, such as dirt)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 7

Meaning:

Apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

whitewash (cover with whitewash)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

wash (a thin coat of water-base paint)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Clean with some chemical process

Synonyms:

rinse; wash

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

process; serve; swear out (deliver a warrant or summons to someone)

Verb group:

wash; wash away; wash off; wash out (remove by the application of water or other liquid and soap or some other cleaning agent)

launder; wash (cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water)

wash (separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

elute (wash out with a solvent, as in chromatography)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They wash the cape

Derivation:

wash (garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering)

washable (capable of being washed without injury)

washer (a home appliance for washing clothes and linens automatically)

washer (someone who washes things for a living)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water

Example:

Wash the towels, please!

Synonyms:

launder; wash

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

clean; make clean (make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from)

Verb group:

rinse; wash (clean with some chemical process)

wash (be capable of being washed)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

acid-wash (wash with acid so as to achieve a bleached look)

machine-wash; machine wash (wash by machine)

hand-wash; handwash (wash or launder by hand instead of with a machine)

stone-wash; stonewash (wash with stones to achieve a worn appearance)

cradle (wash in a cradle)

rinse; rinse off (wash off soap or remaining dirt)

suds (wash in suds)

powerwash; pressure-wash (wash before painting to remove old paint and mildew)

wash out (wash free from unwanted substances, such as dirt)

water-wash (wash with water)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They wash the cape

Derivation:

wash (the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water))

wash (garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering)

washable (capable of being washed without injury)

washer (a home appliance for washing clothes and linens automatically)

washer (someone who washes things for a living)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals)

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

separate (divide into components or constituents)

"Wash" entails doing...:

rinse; rinse off (wash off soap or remaining dirt)

Verb group:

rinse; wash (clean with some chemical process)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

pan; pan off; pan out (wash dirt in a pan to separate out the precious minerals)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 11

Meaning:

Move by or as if by water

Example:

The swollen river washed away the footbridge

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Verb group:

wash (form by erosion)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 12

Meaning:

Admit to testing or proof

Example:

This silly excuse won't wash in traffic court

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

stand (be in effect; be or remain in force)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 13

Meaning:

Be capable of being washed

Example:

Does this material wash?

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Verb group:

launder; wash (cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something ----s Adjective/Noun

Derivation:

wash (the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water))

washable (capable of being washed without injury)

Credits

 Context examples: 

“He certainly needs a wash,” remarked Holmes.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Why," thought I, "does she not explain that she could neither clean her nails nor wash her face, as the water was frozen?"

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The Oswestry Disability Index Version 2.1a (ODI v2.1a) Section 2: Personal care (washing, dressing, etc.).

(ODI v2.1a - Personal Care, NCI Thesaurus)

As he journeyed he bit into a crust which remained from his Beaulieu bread, and he washed it down by a draught from a woodland stream.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“That you are at least consistent,” was all I could say, and I went on washing the dishes.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I cannot abide anything but country washing.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Frequently washing your hands might help prevent getting the virus.

(Fifth Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

The best prevention is frequent hand washing.

(Gastroenteritis, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

These offer limited compatibility with the skin in many circumstances, are damaged when washed and are uncomfortable to wear because they are not breathable.

(Washable, wearable battery-like devices could be woven directly into clothes, University of Cambridge)

Everyone is talking about the Coronavirus here in New York, along with the need to wash hands a lot during the day.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)