polishes

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of polish.

   Each morning the steward polishes the brass fittings on the deck.

   The machine polishes hundreds of lenses every hour.

   Note

   Two kinds of subject take this form. Usually someone polishes something: brass, shoes, or a draft of a speech, because refining and removing flaws are senses of the verb too. A material can also polish on its own, meaning it takes a smooth, glossy surface under friction. In that use there is no object, as in a hardwood that polishes well or a stone that polishes to a deep shine.

   This hardwood polishes to a deep, even shine.

   Marble polishes beautifully under a fine abrasive.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of polish.

   The hardware aisle stocked a dozen metal polishes side by side.

   Different polishes contain waxes, solvents, or fine abrasives.

   Note

   A plural that belongs to the substance sense. Metal polishes, furniture polishes and shoe polishes are kinds or products of the preparation, counted one per formula. The language of Poland and the crested chicken breed are uncountable and belong to capital-P Polish, so they never take this form. The sense of refinement can be counted as well, which makes room for a phrase like the different polishes of two performances.

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