wash

Plural: washes

Noun

• a thin coat of water-base paint
• the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water)
• the dry bed of an intermittent stream (as at the bottom of a canyon)
• 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 flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller
• a watercolor made by applying a series of monochrome washes one over the other
• garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering
• any enterprise in which losses and gains cancel out
  • "at the end of the year the accounting department showed that it was a wash"
• The process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid.
• A liquid used for washing.
• A lotion or other liquid with medicinal or hygienic properties.
• The quantity of clothes washed at a time.
• A smooth and translucent painting created using a paintbrush holding a large amount of solvent and a small amount of paint.
• The breaking of waves on the shore; the onwards rush of shallow water towards a beach.
• The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular:
• The bow wave or wake of a moving ship, or the vortex from its screws.
• The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular:
• The turbulence left in the air by a moving airplane.
• The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular:
• The backward current or disturbed water caused by the action of oars, or of a steamer's screw or paddles, etc.
• The blade of an oar.
• Ground washed away to the sea or a river.
• A piece of ground washed by the action of water, or sometimes covered and sometimes left dry; the shallowest part of a river, or arm of the sea; also, a bog; a marsh.
• A shallow body of water.
• In arid and semi-arid regions, the normally dry bed of an intermittent or ephemeral stream; an arroyo or wadi.
• A situation in which losses and gains or advantages and disadvantages are equivalent; a situation in which there is no net change.
• A fictitious kind of sale of stock or other securities between parties of one interest, or by a broker who is both buyer and seller, and who minds his own interest rather than that of his clients.
• Waste liquid, the refuse of food, the collection from washed dishes, etc., from a kitchen, often used as food for pigs; pigwash.
• In distilling, the fermented wort before the spirit is extracted.
• A mixture of dunder, molasses, water, and scummings, used in the West Indies for distillation.
• A thin coat of paint or metal laid on anything for beauty or preservation.
• Ten strikes, or bushels, of oysters.
• The upper surface of a member or material when given a slope to shed water; hence, a structure or receptacle shaped so as to receive and carry off water.
• A lighting effect that fills a scene with a chosen colour.
• A lighting fixture that can cast a wide beam of light to evenly fill an area with light, as opposed to a spotlight.
• total failure, a washout

Verb

Verb Forms: washed, washing, washes

• To clean with water and often soap.
• clean with some chemical process
• cleanse (one's body) with soap and water
• cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water
  • "Wash the towels, please!"
• move by or as if by water
  • "The swollen river washed away the footbridge"
• be capable of being washed
  • "Does this material wash?"
• admit to testing or proof
  • "This silly excuse won't wash in traffic court"
• separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals)
• apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to
• 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"
• form by erosion
  • "The river washed a ravine into the mountainside"
• make moist
• wash or flow against
• to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking
  • "The cat washes several times a day"
• To clean with water.
• To carry away or erode by the force of water in motion.
• To be eroded or carried away by the action of water.
• To separate valuable material (such as gold) from worthless material by the action of flowing water.
• To clean oneself with water.
• To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten.
• To move with a lapping or swashing sound; to lap or splash.
• To be cogent, convincing; to withstand critique.
• To bear without damage the operation of being washed; to be suitable for washing.
• To cover with a thin or watery coat of colour; to tint lightly and thinly.
• To overlay with a thin coat of metal.
• To cause dephosphorization of (molten pig iron) by adding substances containing iron oxide, and sometimes manganese oxide.
• To pass (a gas or gaseous mixture) through or over a liquid for the purpose of purifying it, especially by removing soluble constituents.
• To mix up tiles (before a new game) to make them random; to shuffle.

Examples

• a carriage wash in a stable
• Dishwashers wash dishes way more efficiently than most humans.
• Don't pour that in the drain; it will wash downstream.
• hand wash
• He needed to wash the taste of defeat out of his mouth after that Words With Friends loss.
• Heavy rains wash a road or an embankment.
• I could hear the wash of the wave.
• I wash every morning after getting up.
• I'm going to have a quick wash before coming to bed.
• mouth wash
• My jacket needs a wash.
• Sail away from the wash to avoid rocking the boat.
• Some calicoes do not wash.
• steel washed with silver
• The car is so dirty, we need to wash it.
• The flood washed away houses.
• The remaining flotsam was washed ashore.
• The ship left a big wash
• There's a lot in that wash: maybe you should split it into two piles.
• This new washing powder rlly washes bedclothes superwhite.
• to hear the water washing
• Waves wash the shore.

Synonyms

airstream, backwash, dampen, dry wash, lap, launder, laundry, lavation, lave, moisten, race, rinse, slipstream, wash away, wash drawing, wash off, wash out, washables, washing, washout, lavatory

Related Words

WASH

Anagrams of wash