soaps

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of soap.

   The store sells dozens of scented soaps from around the world.

   She arranged the handmade soaps in a neat row beside the sink.

   Note

   Where soap is countable, the plural names kinds or separate bars: scented soaps, handmade soaps. The substance itself rarely needs it, since you wash with soap, not soaps. The plural also serves the informal soap-opera sense, where the soaps means such serials taken together, and the bricklayer's soap, a masonry unit cut down from standard size. The same spelling doubles as the present-tense verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of soap.

   The attendant soaps each windshield before scrubbing off the grime.

   He soaps the saddle thoroughly to keep the leather supple.

   Note

   Every verb meaning of soap is transitive, so this form always wants an object: he soaps the saddle, she soaps the dishes. That holds for the informal prank sense too, and for the dated slang sense of flattering someone, where the object is a person being wheedled. Spelled exactly like the plural noun, it is told apart only by the sentence around it.

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