ashes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of ash.

   The family scattered his ashes over the ocean at sunrise.

   Firefighters raked through the ashes to look for hot spots.

   Note

   For cremated remains, English reaches for the plural: we scatter someone's ashes, not their ash. An older use for mortal remains in general takes the same plural shape but is now archaic, so keep it for elevated or historical writing. The figurative sense of what is left after a catastrophe can also appear in the plural. For the plain residue in a grate, the singular ash usually does the work.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of ash.

   The smoker ashes her cigarette over the railing between drags.

   He ashes into an old coffee can on the back porch.

   Note

   Spelled exactly like the plural noun, this verb form adds -es because ash ends in a hushing sound, as wish and push do. Its grammar tells the two apart: it follows a singular subject. Flicking a cigarette and reducing to ash can go with or without an object (she ashes, she ashes her cigarette). Marking a forehead for Ash Wednesday always names the person marked.

   On Wednesday morning the priest ashes each parishioner at the altar rail.

   He leans out the window and ashes into the street.

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