wash

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To clean with water.
2. (transitive) To carry away or erode by the force of water in motion.
3. (intransitive) To be eroded or carried away by the action of water.
4. To separate valuable material (such as gold) from worthless material by the action of flowing water.
5. (intransitive) To clean oneself with water.
6. (transitive) To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten.
7. (intransitive) To move with a lapping or swashing sound; to lap or splash.
8. (figuratively, intransitive) To be cogent, convincing; to withstand critique.
9. (intransitive) To bear without damage the operation of being washed; to be suitable for washing.
10. (transitive) To cover with a thin or watery coat of colour; to tint lightly and thinly.
11. (transitive) To overlay with a thin coat of metal.
12. (transitive) To cause dephosphorization of (molten pig iron) by adding substances containing iron oxide, and sometimes manganese oxide.
13. (transitive) To pass (a gas or gaseous mixture) through or over a liquid for the purpose of purifying it, especially by removing soluble constituents.
14. To mix up tiles (before a new game) to make them random; to shuffle.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) The process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid.
2. (countable, uncountable) A liquid used for washing.
3. (countable, uncountable) A lotion or other liquid with medicinal or hygienic properties.
4. (countable, uncountable) The quantity of clothes washed at a time.
5. (countable, uncountable) A smooth and translucent painting created using a paintbrush holding a large amount of solvent and a small amount of paint.
6. (countable, uncountable) The breaking of waves on the shore; the onwards rush of shallow water towards a beach.
7. (countable, uncountable) The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular:
8. (countable, uncountable) The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular:
9. (countable, uncountable) The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular:
10. (countable, uncountable) The blade of an oar.
11. (countable, uncountable) Ground washed away to the sea or a river.
12. (countable, uncountable) 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.
13. (countable, uncountable) A shallow body of water.
14. (countable, uncountable) In arid and semi-arid regions, the normally dry bed of an intermittent or ephemeral stream; an arroyo or wadi.
15. (countable, uncountable) A situation in which losses and gains or advantages and disadvantages are equivalent; a situation in which there is no net change.
16. (countable, slang, uncountable) 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.
17. (countable, uncountable) Waste liquid, the refuse of food, the collection from washed dishes, etc., from a kitchen, often used as food for pigs; pigwash.
18. (countable, uncountable) In distilling, the fermented wort before the spirit is extracted.
19. (countable, uncountable) A mixture of dunder, molasses, water, and scummings, used in the West Indies for distillation.
20. (countable, uncountable) A thin coat of paint or metal laid on anything for beauty or preservation.
21. (countable, uncountable) Ten strikes, or bushels, of oysters.
22. (countable, uncountable) 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.
23. (countable, uncountable) A lighting effect that fills a scene with a chosen colour.
24. (countable, uncountable) A lighting fixture that can cast a wide beam of light to evenly fill an area with light, as opposed to a spotlight.
25. (countable, uncountable) total failure, a washout

Synonyms

clean

bathe

cleanse

rinse

washing

laundry

lave

scrub

launder

purify

take a bath

scour

bath

🛀

rub

wash oneself

dampen

wash off

wash up

cleansing

wipe

shower

🚿

water

🚰

rinse off

washout

shampoo

brush

moisten

washables

bank

🏦

surge

bleach

wash drawing

shoal

backwash

clear

slipstream

swab

race

rinsing

wash out

wet

lavation

leach

dry wash

lotion

laundering

airstream

wash away

whiten

douche

Translations

laver

🧽

lavar

🧽

waschen

🧽

lavare

🧽

lavar

🧽

wassen

🧽

se laver

πλένω

lavage

rentar

🧽

lavado

غسل

lavaggio

lavarse

Pronounced as (IPA)

/wɒʃ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: wasshen

Inherited from Old English: wasċan

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: waaske

Cognate with Western Frisian: waskje

Cognate with Dutch: wassen

Cognate with Low German: waschen

Cognate with German: waschen

Cognate with Danish: vaske

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: vaske

Cognate with Swedish: vaska

Cognate with Icelandic: vaska

In summary

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”).