wash

WAHSH/wɑʃ/WOSH/wɒʃ/

Verbwashes, washing, washed

Noun pluralwashes

31 meanings of wash

Practice

1
verbtransitive
To make something, someone, or yourself clean using water and often soap.
Like rinsing mud off your boots under a running tap.
I wash my hands before every meal.
She washed the dirty plates in the sink.
UsageSay wash the dishes, or wash the mud off.
Similarclean, rinse, bathe, scrub, cleanse
Oppositedirty, soil
2
act of cleaningnounusually singular
The act of cleaning something with water.
The muddy truck badly needs a wash.
A quick wash got the dust off the windows.
UsageSay give it a wash.
Similarclean, scrub, rinse, cleaning
3
verbtransitive
(Of water) to carry something away or onto land, or wear it down. Also, to be carried off by water.
Like a river slowly carrying sand away from its banks.
Heavy rains can wash soil from the bare hillside.
The flood washed the little bridge downstream.
UsageSay washed away or washed ashore.
Similarsweep, carry
4
nouncountable or uncountable
A liquid used for cleaning or rinsing something, including liquids for the skin, mouth, or a wound.
The nurse cleaned the cut with an antiseptic wash.
This face wash is gentle on dry skin.
Similarrinse, lotion, solution, cleanser
5
survive cleaningverbintransitive
To stand up to being washed without getting damaged.
This shirt washes well and never shrinks.
Cheap fabrics often do not wash without fading.
UsageSay this shirt washes well.
Similarlaunder
6
verbtransitive
(Of water or waves) to flow over or against something, often with a soft splashing sound.
Waves wash the rocks along the shore.
Small waves washed against the side of the boat.
Similarlap, bathe, splash, wet
Note
7
nouncountable
A thin, watery layer of paint or color spread over a surface, or a very thin coat of metal.
Like spreading a few drops of watery paint so the color shows only faintly.
The artist added a pale blue wash to the sky in her painting.
A thin wash of gray gave the drawing a soft, misty look.
UsageSay a wash of blue.
Note

Less common meanings

8
load of clothesnouncountable or uncountable
The amount of clothes you clean at one time.
I put a wash on before leaving for work.
There's a big wash waiting in the basket.
UsageSay do the wash or hang out the wash.
Similarlaundry, load
9
break evennounusually singular
A result where the good and bad parts cancel each other out, with no real change.
Like taking two steps forward and two steps back: you end up where you started.
After fees and taxes, the deal turned out to be a wash.
The savings and the costs matched, so it was a wash.
UsageIt's a wash means things came out even. A washout is a failure.
10
dry stream bednouncountable
A dry stream bed in a hot, dry region that fills with water only after rain.
Like an empty ditch that stays dry until heavy rain fills it.
We hiked along a dusty wash at the bottom of the canyon.
After the storm, the wash filled with rushing water.
Similararroyo, wadi, gully, gulch
Note
11
color lightlyverbtransitive
To put a thin, watery coat of color over something.
Artists often wash the paper with diluted ink first.
She washed the sky in her painting with pale blue.
Similartint, tinge, color
12
be convincingverbfigurativelyintransitive
To seem true or believable and to hold up when people question it.
Like a story with holes that falls apart when you look closely.
That excuse simply won't wash with the committee.
His story didn't wash, and no one believed him.
UsageSay that won't wash about an excuse nobody believes.
Similarfly
Note
13
surfnounusually singular
The rush of shallow water onto a beach as waves break.
Like water sliding up the beach and then sliding back again.
We listened to the wash of the sea all night.
The wash carried tiny shells up onto the sand.
UsageSay the wash of the sea.
Similarsurf, swash
Note
14
nounusually singular
The rough, moving water behind a boat or ship, or the disturbed air behind a plane.
Like the rolling water a big boat leaves behind it.
The speedboat's wash rocked the little canoes.
We felt the wash from the ferry hit our small boat.
Similarwake, backwash
Note
15
pan for goldverbtransitive
To separate valuable bits, such as gold, from useless material using flowing water.
Like rinsing sand in a pan so the heavy gold stays and the light dirt floats away.
Miners wash gravel to find tiny flakes of gold.
They washed the sand carefully to collect the gold.
Similarpan, sluice
Note
16
coat with metalverbtransitive
To cover something with a thin layer of metal.
Like dipping a cheap ring so it gets a thin gold coating.
The cheap ring was washed with gold to make it shine.
Old silversmiths would wash copper buttons with silver to make them shine.
Similarplate, coat
17
nounrare
A shallow area of water, such as a marsh or flooded ground.
18
noundated
A complete failure, or something that does not work out at all.
19
noun
In stage lighting, wide even light, often one color, covering a whole area. Also the lamp that makes it.
20
verb
To mix up game tiles so their order is random before a new game.
21
nounslang
A fake sale of stocks where the buyer and seller are really the same side.
22
noun
A sloped surface on a building part that lets rainwater run off.
23
noun
In making strong drinks like whiskey, the liquid that has turned alcoholic, before the strong alcohol is taken out.
24
verb
To take phosphorus out of melted iron by adding certain chemicals.
25
verb
To clean a gas by passing it through a liquid.
26
noun
The wide end of an oar that goes in the water.
27
noun
Dirt that water carries away into a river or the sea.
28
noun
Low wet land that water covers and uncovers, or a marsh.
29
noun
Leftover food and dish water given to pigs.
30
noun
A mix of molasses and water used to make rum.
31
noun
An old amount of oysters, ten bushels.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of wash apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old English wascan, meaning "to wash." It goes back to an old root meaning "wet" or "water."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Wash descends from Old English wascan. en.wiktionary.org
Old English wascan means “to wash.” en.wiktionary.org