What does "fresh" mean?
A rush of water, along a river or onto the land; a flood.
Fresh
/fɹɛʃ/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A rush of water, along a river or onto the land; a flood.
- Grammar: fresh is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: new, novel, unused, a novice at.
- Useful contrasts: fatigued, hackneyed, rotten.
- Usage evidence: In this harsh, petty world where money does the talking, his way of life is like a breath of fresh air.
How to use "fresh"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fresh" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "fresh" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "fresh" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fresh" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "fresh" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "new" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "fresh", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A rush of water, along a river or onto the land; a flood.
"They went on very well with their work until it was nigh done, when there came the second epistle to Noah's fresh, and away went their mill, shot, lock, and barrel."
- 2 A stream or spring of fresh water.
"[…]And take his bottle from him. / When that's gone, / He shall drink naught but brine, for I'll not show him / Where the quick freshes are."
- 3 The mingling of fresh water with salt in rivers or bays, as by means of a flood of fresh water flowing toward or into the sea.
"When they cross any great Water, or violent Fresh, or Torrent, they throw Tobacco, Puccoon, Peak, or some other valuable thing, that they happen to have about there, to intreat the Spirit presiding there, to grant them a safe passage. It is call'd a Fresh, when after very great Rains, or (as we suppose) after a great Thaw of the Snow and Ice lying upon the Mountains Page 43 to the North West, the Water descends, in such abundance into the Rivers, that they overflow the Banks which bound their Streams at other times."
Verb
- 1 To pack (fish) loosely on ice.
"With the exception of about 1800 crans which were "rough packed," all the herrings landed during the winter months were freshed and kippered."
- 2 To flood or dilute an area of salt water with flowing fresh water.
"Our first assumption was that freshed sea water areas were favourable for these organisms."
- 3 To become stronger.
"Horrible was now my condition, as the wind freshed up more and more."
- 4 To rebore the barrel of a rifle or shotgun.
"When the barrel became very rough the gun was taken to the local gunsmith and "freshed.""
- 5 To update.
"Thus the liberties of the nation, civil and religious, were laid freshed by his preaching, and. more and more confirmed in the presbyterian principles: and we likewise resorted for a time at West Calder kirk, to Mr. Patrick Shiels, by whose preaching I was yet more confirmed in the presbyterian way."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To freshen up.
"I freshed meself and followed after him and made choice of me dinner."
- 7 To renew.
"Q. Did you tell anybody this tale that you heard this man threaten what they were going to do?—A. No, sir; I didn't say nothing to anybody until Monday—Monday or Tuesday, one—then my mind was freshed."
- 8 Of a dairy cow, to give birth to a calf.
"A cow was actually tested twice a month on the 5th and 25th of each month. The cow freshed December 15, her milk was good December 18, and she went dry October 30."
Adjective
- 1 Newly produced or obtained; recent.
"He followed the fresh hoofprints to find the deer."
- 2 Rude, cheeky, or inappropriate; presumptuous; disrespectful; forward. idiomatic
"No one liked his fresh comments."
- 3 Of food, not dried, frozen, or spoiled.
"After taking a beating in the boxing ring, the left side of his face looked like fresh meat."
- 4 Sexually aggressive or forward; prone to caress too eagerly; overly flirtatious. idiomatic
"Hey, don't get fresh with me!"
- 5 Of plant material, still green and not dried.
"With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get[…]"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 Invigoratingly cool and refreshing.
"What a nice fresh breeze."
- 7 Of water, without salt; not saline.
"After a day at sea it was good to feel the fresh water of the stream."
- 8 Rested; not tired or fatigued.
"Before the match, Hodgson had expressed the hope that his players would be fresh rather than rusty after an 18-day break from league commitments because of two successive postponements."
- 9 In a raw or untried state; uncultured; unpracticed.
"a fresh hand on a ship"
- 10 Youthful; florid.
"these fresh nymphs"
- 11 Good, fashionable. slang
"a fresh pair of sneakers"
- 12 Tipsy; drunk. archaic, slang
"How long did Mr. Crisp stay with you?—He might have stayed two hours; he stayed some time after; he drank ale and got fresh."
Adjective
- 1 improperly forward or bold wordnet
- 2 not yet used or soiled wordnet
- 3 recently made, produced, or harvested wordnet
- 4 not canned or otherwise preserved wordnet
- 5 not containing or composed of salt water wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 imparting vitality and energy wordnet
- 7 (of a cycle) beginning or occurring again wordnet
- 8 original and of a kind not seen before wordnet
- 9 free from impurities wordnet
- 10 not soured or preserved wordnet
- 11 with restored energy wordnet
- 12 having recently calved and therefore able to give milk wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Recently; just recently; most recently. not-comparable
"We are fresh out of milk."
Adverb
- 1 very recently wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from German.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"In this harsh, petty world where money does the talking, his way of life is like a breath of fresh air."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "fresh"?
Common synonyms include: new, novel, unused, a novice at, a stranger to, accessory.
How do you use "fresh" in a sentence?
In this harsh, petty world where money does the talking, his way of life is like a breath of fresh air.
How do you pronounce "fresh"?
Pronounced /fɹɛʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English fressh, from Old English fersċ (“fresh, pure, sweet”), from Proto-West Germanic *frisk (“fresh”), from Proto-Germanic *friskaz (“fresh”), from Proto-Indo-European *preysk- (“fresh”). The verb is from Middle English freshen (“to freshen”), from the adjective. Cognate with Scots fresch (“fresh”), West Frisian farsk (“fresh”), Dutch vers (“fresh”), Walloon frexh (“fresh”), German frisch (“fresh”), French frais (“fresh”), Norwegian and Danish frisk (“fresh”), fersk, Icelandic ferskur (“fresh”), Lithuanian prėskas (“unflavoured, tasteless, fresh”), Russian пре́сный (présnyj, “sweet, fresh, unleavened, tasteless”). Doublet of fresco and frisk. Slang sense possibly shortened form of “fresh out the pack”, 1980s routine by Grand Wizzard Theodore.
Etymology 2
First use appears c. 1848, US slang, probably from German frech (“impudent, cheeky, insolent”), from Middle High German vrech (“bold, brave, lively”), from Old High German freh (“greedy, eager, avaricious, covetous”), from Proto-West Germanic *frek, from Proto-Germanic *frekaz (“greedy, outrageous, courageous, capable, active”), from Proto-Indo-European *preg- (“to be quick, twitch, sprinkle, splash”). Cognate with Old English frec (“greedy; eager, bold, daring; dangerous”) and Danish fræk (“naughty”). More at freak.
Etymology 3
Possibly an Americanized form of German Frisch.