Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Wash

//wɒʃ// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun

1
A bay with multiple estuaries of great ecological importance in eastern England, dividing Lincolnshire from Norfolk.
2
A diminutive of the male given name Washington.

Noun

1
The process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid. countable, uncountable
"I'm going to have a quick wash before coming to bed."
2
Acronym of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
3
the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water) wordnet
4
A liquid used for washing. countable, uncountable
5
any enterprise in which losses and gains cancel out wordnet

Show 29 more definitions

6
A lotion or other liquid with medicinal or hygienic properties. countable, uncountable
"mouth wash"
7
garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering wordnet
8
The quantity of clothes washed at a time. countable, uncountable
"There's a lot in that wash: maybe you should split it into two piles."
9
a watercolor made by applying a series of monochrome washes one over the other wordnet
10
A smooth and translucent painting created using a paintbrush holding a large amount of solvent and a small amount of paint. countable, uncountable
11
a thin coat of water-base paint wordnet
12
The breaking of waves on the shore; the onwards rush of shallow water towards a beach. countable, uncountable
"I could hear the wash of the wave."
13
the dry bed of an intermittent stream (as at the bottom of a canyon) wordnet
14
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. countable, uncountable
"The ship left a big wash"
15
the flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller wordnet
16
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. countable, uncountable
17
the erosive process of washing away soil or gravel by water (as from a roadway) wordnet
18
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. countable, uncountable
19
The blade of an oar. countable, uncountable
20
Ground washed away to the sea or a river. countable, uncountable
"The wash of pastures, fields, commons, and roads, […]where rain water hath a long time settled."
21
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. countable, uncountable
"These Lincoln washes have devoured them."
22
A shallow body of water. countable, uncountable
23
In arid and semi-arid regions, the normally dry bed of an intermittent or ephemeral stream; an arroyo or wadi. countable, uncountable
"1997, Stanley Desmond Smith, et al. Physiological Ecology of North American Desert Plants, Nature In some desert-wash systems (which have been termed “xero-riparian”)"
24
A situation in which losses and gains or advantages and disadvantages are equivalent; a situation in which there is no net change. countable, uncountable
"I knew that for every vote I cast for, say, the Republicans, some kid at a polling place nearby was casting his votes for the Democrats, so it was probably a wash or close to it."
25
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. countable, slang, uncountable
26
Waste liquid, the refuse of food, the collection from washed dishes, etc., from a kitchen, often used as food for pigs; pigwash. countable, uncountable
27
In distilling, the fermented wort before the spirit is extracted. countable, uncountable
28
A mixture of dunder, molasses, water, and scummings, used in the West Indies for distillation. countable, uncountable
"In order to augment the vinosity of the wash, many substances are recommended by Dr. Shaw, such as tartar, nitre, common salt, and the vegetable or mineral acids."
29
A thin coat of paint or metal laid on anything for beauty or preservation. countable, uncountable
30
Ten strikes, or bushels, of oysters. countable, uncountable
31
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. countable, uncountable
"a carriage wash in a stable"
32
A lighting effect that fills a scene with a chosen colour. countable, uncountable
33
A lighting fixture that can cast a wide beam of light to evenly fill an area with light, as opposed to a spotlight. countable, uncountable
34
A total failure; a washout. countable, uncountable

Verb

1
To clean with water. transitive
"The car is so dirty, we need to wash it."
2
to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking wordnet
3
To carry away or erode by the force of water in motion. transitive
"Don't pour that in the drain; it will wash downstream."
4
cleanse (one's body) with soap and water wordnet
5
To be eroded or carried away by the action of water. intransitive

Show 23 more definitions

6
wash or flow against wordnet
7
To clean oneself with water. intransitive
"I wash every morning after getting up."
8
make moist wordnet
9
To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten. transitive
"Waves wash the shore."
10
form by erosion wordnet
11
To move with a lapping or swashing sound; to lap or splash. intransitive
"to hear the water washing"
12
wash by removing particles wordnet
13
To be cogent, convincing; to withstand critique. figuratively, intransitive
"“And then, how could he know it was her coffee? No, old fellow, I don’t think that will wash.”"
14
remove by the application of water or other liquid and soap or some other cleaning agent wordnet
15
To bear without damage the operation of being washed; to be suitable for washing. intransitive
"Some calicoes do not wash."
16
apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to wordnet
17
To cover with a thin or watery coat of colour; to tint lightly and thinly. transitive
18
clean with some chemical process wordnet
19
To overlay with a thin coat of metal. transitive
"steel washed with silver"
20
cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water wordnet
21
To pass or extract (a gas or gaseous mixture) through or over a liquid for the purpose of purifying it, especially by removing soluble constituents. transitive
"Aqueous washings are done to remove water soluble impurities from organic products since normally the compound that you desire will be dissolved in the organic layer […]"
22
separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals) wordnet
23
To separate valuable material (such as gold) from worthless material by the action of flowing water.
24
move by or as if by water wordnet
25
To cause dephosphorization of (molten pig iron) by adding substances containing iron oxide, and sometimes manganese oxide. transitive
26
admit to testing or proof wordnet
27
To mix up tiles (before a new game) to make them random; to shuffle.
28
be capable of being washed wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English wasshen, waschen, weschen, from Old English wascan, from Proto-West Germanic *waskan, from Proto-Germanic *waskaną, *watskaną (“to wash, get wet”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“wet; water”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian waaske (“to wash”), West Frisian waskje (“to wash”), Dutch wassen, wasschen (“to wash”), Low German waschen (“to wash”), German waschen (“to wash”), Danish vaske (“to wash”), Norwegian Bokmål vaske (“to wash”), Swedish vaska (“to wash”), Icelandic vaska (“to wash”).

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Possibilities are discussed at The Wash § History.

Etymology 4

Clipping of Washington.

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: wash