What does "squeegee" mean?
A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.
Squeegee
/ˈskwiːd͡ʒiː/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.
- Grammar: squeegee is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: clean, coat, distribute, glass wiper.
- Useful contrasts: absorbent cloth, dampen, erase.
- Usage evidence: Whenever I get gas, I make sure to squeegee my windows.
How to use "squeegee"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "squeegee" 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 "squeegee" 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 "squeegee" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "squeegee" 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 "squeegee" is acting as 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 "clean" 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.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "squeegee", 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 tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.
"This machine, […] consists of a timber cylinder revolving on an axle, […] The cylinder is armed externally with diagonally-fixed scrapers, squeegees, or brushes."
- 2 T-shaped cleaning implement with a rubber edge across the top; drawn across a surface to remove water (as in washing windows) wordnet
- 3 A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.; A long-handled tool with a blade used for cleaning and/or drying surfaces, or for levelling paths, roadways, etc.
"[F]our men were employed in playing the jets, two in moving the hose from place to place, and four with brooms in sweeping the surfaces of the asphalte and keeping the channels free from straw and larger refuse; they also used squeegees to dry the surface of the asphalte, it being thought desirable that it should be left as dry as possible, […]"
- 4 A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.; A short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.
"For roughly the same cost as two bottles of bathroom cleaner, it is now possible to buy a small squeegee and a microfibre cloth. If you can, buy a squeegee that also has a sucker attachment to enable it to be stuck somewhere convenient and always at hand the moment you emerge gleaming from your ablutions."
- 5 A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.; A long-handled tool with a blade used on ships for swabbing decks and spreading protective coatings.
"As for holy-stoning the decks [of the yacht], I set my face against that from the first; it is the worst description of nervous torture of which I ever heard, excepting perhaps, the infliction of the squee gee, which, as its name almost implies, sets every tooth in one's head on edge for a week."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A tool consisting of a roller attached to a handle, used for applying pressure, removing liquid, etc.; A street-cleaning machine consisting of a roller with blades pulled by a horse. historical
"Experiments during the previous year in street washing by squeegee and flushing machines proved so successful that this method has been permanently adopted and the work will be extended as funds are available. The squeegee machines are operated in batteries of one sprinkler and three squeegees, the sprinkler operated some distance ahead to allow the dirt which has become baked and stuck to the pavement to be softened by the absorption of water and easily dislodged by the squeegees. With one battery, which works in the hilly section of the city, it has been found necessary to use three horses in each squeegee machine."
- 7 A tool consisting of a roller attached to a handle, used for applying pressure, removing liquid, etc.; A tool used to press film into a mount, remove excess moisture from a print, etc.; a squeezer.
"The transfer of the image from paper on to the glass is very easy. The paper is immersed in water, and placed in contact with a glass plate. The superfluous moisture being removed by a squeegee, the paper may then be stripped off, leaving the gelatine on the glass."
- 8 A tool consisting of a roller attached to a handle, used for applying pressure, removing liquid, etc.; A tool with a roller or blade used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing.
- 9 A person who uses a squeegee (noun sense 1.2); specifically, one who makes an unsolicited attempt to clean the windshield of a car stopped at a traffic light and then requests payment; a squeegee bandit. slang
Verb
- 1 Sometimes followed by down, out, together, etc.: to press or spread (a substance) using a squeegee (noun sense); also, to use a squeegee on (something, such as a surface). transitive
"Transparencies on glass, for use in the Stereoscope, the magic lantern, or for window decoration, may very easily be made by the Carbon process. […] The Carbon tissue, previously cut to the dimensions of the glass, is printed as previously directed, with a very narrow safe-edge: it is then "squeegeed" down on the glass and developed."
- 2 wipe with a squeegee wordnet
- 3 To use a squeegee. intransitive
"Having regulated the temperature, the following articles will be required:– […] a rubber squeegee, and a piece of American cloth to protect the print while squeegeeing; […]"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Whenever I get gas, I make sure to squeegee my windows."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "squeegee"?
Common synonyms include: clean, coat, distribute, glass wiper, ink spreader, polish.
How do you use "squeegee" in a sentence?
Whenever I get gas, I make sure to squeegee my windows.
How do you pronounce "squeegee"?
Pronounced /ˈskwiːd͡ʒiː/.
Etymology
The noun is probably derived from squeege (“(informal, dated) to squeeze”, verb) (an intensified form of squeeze (verb)) + -ee (suffix attached to verbs to form nouns meaning persons or things that are the subjects of the verbs). Compare earlier squilgee, squillgee (“tool in the form of a mop or swab, or a blade with a long handle, used for cleaning and/or drying a vessel’s deck”). The verb is derived from the noun.