washing Definition

wash
verb washes, washed, washing

1. To cleanse someone or something with water or other liquid, and usually soap or detergent.

Thesaurus: clean, cleanse, bathe, soak, scrub, scour, wipe, clean up.
intr
2. To cleanse oneself, or one's hands and face, with water, etc.

Thesaurus: take a bath, take a shower, freshen up.
intr
3. Said of a fabric or dye: to withstand washing without change or damage.
tr & intr
4. Said of dirt or a stain: to be removed, or remove it, through washing.

Form: wash off (usually)
Form: wash out
Form: wash something off
tr & intr
5. Said of an animal: to lick (itself or its young, etc) clean.
6. To moisten or wet (eg an injured part).
7. Said of a river, the sea, waves, etc: to flow against or over (a place or land feature, etc).

Form: wash against something (usually)
Form: wash over something
8. Said of flowing water: to erode or gouge out (a channel, etc) in the landscape.
9. To cover (a surface, eg a wall) with a thin layer of metal.
10. In watercolour painting: to cover (paper) with a thin layer of watery paint or ink.
intr
11. colloq
To stand the test; to bear investigation.
Example: That excuse just won't wash
Thesaurus: be plausible, be reasonable, be convincing, stand up to examination, hold water.
12. mining.
To separate (ore) from earth with a flow of water.
13. literary
To spread over something.

noun washes

1. The process of washing or being washed.
2. This process undertaken by a laundry.
3. A quantity of clothes, etc for washing, or just washed.

Thesaurus: laundry, soiled clothing, washing.
4. The breaking of waves against something; the sound of this.

Thesaurus: current, eddy, surge, flow, lapping, wave, gush, spurt.
5. The rough water or disturbed air left by a ship or aircraft.
6. A lotion or other preparation for cleansing or washing.

Example: facewash
7. Kitchen slops or brewery waste, etc for giving to pigs.
8. art.
A thin application of water colour.

Idiom: come out in the wash

Said of a mark or stain, etc: to disappear after washing.

colloq
To turn out satisfactorily, or become intelligible, in the end.

Idiom: wash one's hands of something or someone

To abandon responsibility for it or them.
Thesaurus: abdicate responsibility for, have nothing to do with, give up, leave to one's own devices, lose patience with.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon wæscan.

Phrasal Verb: wash something away

To remove it by washing.Said of flowing water: to carry it off by force.

Phrasal Verb: wash something down

Said of a liquid: to carry something downwards; to wash it away.To wash it from top to bottom.To ease (a pill) down one's throat, or accompany or follow (food), with a drink.

Phrasal Verb: wash up or wash something up

To wash the dishes and cutlery after a meal.

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washing
noun

1. The act of cleansing, wetting or coating with liquid.
2. Clothes to be, or which have just been washed.