wash

( washes plural & 3rd person present) ( washing present participle) (washed past tense & past participle )
verb If you wash something, you clean it using water and usually a substance such as soap or detergent.
He got a job washing dishes in a pizza parlour...
Vn
It took a long time to wash the mud out of his hair...
V n prep
Rub down the door and wash off the dust before applying the varnish.
V n with adv
Wash is also a noun., n-count
That coat could do with a wash..., The treatment leaves hair glossy and lasts 10 to 16 washes.
verb If you wash or if you wash part of your body, especially your hands and face, you clean part of your body
using soap and water.
They looked as if they hadn't washed in days...
V
She washed her face with cold water...
Vn
You are going to have your dinner, get washed, and go to bed.
get V-ed
Wash is also a noun., n-count usu a N in sing
She had a wash and changed her clothes.
verb If a sea or river washes somewhere, it flows there gently. You can also say that something carried by a sea
or river washes or is washed somewhere.
The sea washed against the shore...
V prep/adv
The force of the water washed him back into the cave.
V n with adv, Also V n prep
n-sing The wash of a boat is the wave that it causes on either side as it moves through the water.
the N

...the wash from large ships.

verb If a feeling washesover you, you suddenly feel it very strongly and cannot control it.
WRITTEN A wave of self-consciousness can wash over her when someone new enters the room...

V over/through

n
6

verb If you say that an excuse or idea will not wash, you mean that people will not accept or believe it.
INFORMAL usu with brd-neg

He said her policies didn't work and the excuses didn't wash...
V
If they believe that solution would wash with the Haitian people, they are making a dramatic error.

V with n

washing
8

If you say that something such as an item of clothing is in the wash, you mean that it is being washed, is waiting to
be washed, or has just been washed and should therefore not be worn or used.
INFORMAL
be in the wash
phrase V inflects
Your jeans are in the wash.

to wash your dirty linen in public

dirty
to wash your hands of something
hand wash away
phrasal verb If rain or floods wash away something, they destroy it and carry it away.
Flood waters washed away one of the main bridges in Pusan...
V P n (not pron), Also V n P wash down
1

2
1
2
3

phrasal verb If you wash something, especially food, down with a drink, you drink the drink after eating the food,
especially to make the food easier to swallow or digest.
He took two aspirin immediately and washed them down with three cups of water.
V n P, Also V P n (not pron)
phrasal verb If you wash down an object, you wash it all, from top to bottom.
The prisoner started to wash down the walls of his cell.
V P n (not pron), Also V n P wash out
phrasal verb If you wash out a container, you wash the inside of it. (=clean out)
It was my job to wash out the fish tank.
V P n (not pron)
phrasal verb If dye or dirt washes out, it can be removed by washing.
With permanent tints, the result won't wash out.
VP
phrasal verb If rain washes out a sports game or other event, it spoils it or prevents it from continuing.
Rain washed out five of the last seven games.
V P n (not pron)

washed-out
washout wash over

phrasal verb If something someone does or says washes over you, you do not notice
it or it does not affect you in any way.
The television headlines seemed to wash over her without meaning anything.
V P n wash up

phrasal verb If you wash up, you wash the plates, cups, cutlery, and pans which have been used for cooking
and eating a meal.
(BRIT)
I ran some hot water and washed up...
VP
I bet you make breakfast and wash up their plates, too.
V P n (not pron), Also V n P
in AM, use wash the dishes

phrasal verb If you wash up, you clean part of your body with soap and water, especially your hands and face.
(AM)

He headed to the bathroom to wash up.

VP

in BRIT, use wash

3

phrasal verb If something is washed upon a piece of land, it is carried by a river or sea and left there.
usu passive

Thousands of herring and crab are washed up on the beaches during every storm...
The fossils appear to be an early form of seaweed washed up on a beach.
V-ed P

be V-ed P prep/adv

washed up
washing-up

wash-rag
(AM)

( wash-rags
n-count

plural ) ,

washrag

A wash-rag is the same as a washcloth.

shampoo
( shampoos

plural & 3rd person present) ( shampooing

present participle) ( shampooed

past tense & past

participle )
1
2

n-mass Shampoo is a soapy liquid that you use for washing your hair.
...a bottle of shampoo., ...bubble baths, soaps and shampoos.
verb When you shampoo your hair, you wash it using shampoo.
Shampoo your hair and dry it.

rinse
1

( rinses plural & 3rd person present) ( rinsing present participle) (rinsed past tense & past participle )
verb When you rinse something, you wash it in clean water in order to remove dirt or soap from it.
It's important to rinse the rice to remove the starch.
Vn
Rinse is also a noun., n-count
A quick rinse isn't sufficient. Use plenty of running water to wash away all traces of shampoo.
verb If you rinse your mouth, you wash it by filling your mouth with water or with a liquid that kills germs, then
spitting it out.
Use a toothbrush on your tongue as well, and rinse your mouth frequently.
Vn
Rinse out means the same as rinse., phrasal verb
After her meal she invariably rinsed out her mouth...
V P n (not pron)
You should rinse your mouth out after eating.
VnP
Rinse is also a noun., n-mass
...mouth rinses with fluoride.

launder
1

( launders 3rd person present) ( laundering present participle) (laundered past tense & past participle )
verb When you launder clothes, sheets, and towels, you wash and iron them.
OLD-FASHIONED How many guests who expect clean towels every day in an hotel launder their own every day at
home?...
Vn
verb To launder money that has been obtained illegally means to process it through a legitimate business or to
send it abroad to a foreign bank, so that when it comes back nobody knows that it was illegally obtained.
The House voted today to crack down on banks that launder drug money.
Vn
launderer
( launderers plural) n-count
...a businessman and self-described money launderer.

swill
1
2

( swills 3rd person present) ( swilling present participle) ( swilled past tense & past participle )
verb If you swill an alcoholic drink, you drink a lot of it.
A crowd of men were standing around swilling beer.
Vn
verb If a liquid swillsaround, or if you swill it around, it moves around the area that it is contained in.
Gallons of sea water had rushed into the cabin and were now swilling about in the bilges...
V around/about
She swilled the whisky around in her glass.
V n around/about
n-uncount Swill is a liquid mixture containing waste food that is given to pigs to eat.

sluice
1
2

( sluices plural & 3rd person present) ( sluicing present participle) (sluiced past tense & past participle )
n-count A sluice is a passage that carries a current of water and has a barrier, called a sluice gate, which can be
opened and closed to control the flow of water.
verb If you sluice something or sluice it down or out, you wash it with a stream of water.
He sluiced the bath and filled it...

douse
1
2

( douses 3rd person present) ( dousing present participle) ( doused past tense & past participle ) ,
verb If you douse a fire, you stop it burning by pouring a lot of water over it.
The pumps were started and the crew began to douse the fire with water.
Vn
verb If you douse someone or something with a liquid, you throw a lot of that liquid over them.
They hurled abuse at their victim as they doused him with petrol.

dowse

brush
1

3
4

6
7

( brushes plural & 3rd person present) ( brushing present participle) (brushed past tense & past participle )
n-count A brush is an object which has a large number of bristles or hairs fixed to it. You use brushes for
painting, for cleaning things, and for tidying your hair.
We gave him paint and brushes..., Stains are removed with buckets of soapy water and scrubbing brushes., ...a hair
brush.
verb If you brush something or brush something such as dirt off it, you clean it or tidy it using a brush.
Have you brushed your teeth?...
Vn
She brushed the powder out of her hair...
V n prep
Using a small brush, he brushed away the fine sawdust.
V n with adv
Brush is also a noun., n-sing a N
I gave it a quick brush with my hairbrush.
verb If you brush something with a liquid, you apply a layer of that liquid using a brush.
Take a sheet of filo pastry and brush it with melted butter.
V n with n
verb If you brush something somewhere, you remove it with quick light movements of your hands.
He brushed his hair back with both hands...
V n with adv
He brushed the snow off the windshield.
V n prep
verb If one thing brushesagainst another or if you brush one thing against another, the first thing touches the
second thing lightly while passing it.
Something brushed against her leg...
V prep
I felt her dark brown hair brushing the back of my shoulder...
Vn
She knelt and brushed her lips softly across Michael's cheek.
V n prep
verb If you brushpast someone or brushby them, you almost touch them as you go past them.
WRITTEN My father would burst into the kitchen, brushing past my mother...
V prep/adv
n-count If you have a brushwith someone, you have an argument or disagreement with them. You use brush
when you want to make an argument or disagreement sound less serious than it really is.
usu N with n (vagueness) My first brush with a headmaster came six years ago..., It is his third brush with the law
in less than a year.

n-count If you have a brushwith a particular situation, usually an unpleasant one, you almost experience it.
N with n (=encounter)

...the trauma of a brush with death..., The corporation is fighting to survive its second brush with bankruptcy.
n-uncount Brush is an area of rough open land covered with small bushes and trees. You also use brush to refer
to the bushes and trees on this land. (=bush)
...the brush fire that destroyed nearly 500 acres., ...a meadow of low brush and grass.

10

broad-brush
nail brush
11

tarred with the same brush

tar brush aside , brush away
phrasal verb If you brush aside or brush away an idea, remark, or
feeling, you refuse to consider it because you think it is not important or useful, even though it may be. (=dismiss)
Perhaps you shouldn't brush the idea aside too hastily...
VnP
He brushed away my views on politics.
V P n (not pron) brush up , brush up on
phrasal verb If you
brush up something or brush up on it, you practise it or improve your knowledge of it.
I had hoped to brush up my Spanish...
V P n (not pron)
Eleanor spent much of the summer brushing up on her driving.
VPPn

broad-brush

, broad brush

A broad-brush approach, strategy, or solution deals with a problem in a general way rather than concentrating on
details.
adj usu ADJ n
He's giving a broad brush approach to the subject.

brush-off
If someone gives you thebrush-off when you speak to them, they refuse to talk to you or be nice to you.
INFORMAL
n-sing
I wanted to keep in touch, but when I called him he gave me the brush-off.
nail brush
( nail brushes plural ) , nailbrush A nail brush is a small brush that you use to clean your
nails when washing your hands.
n-count

polish
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3
4
5

( polishes plural & 3rd person present) ( polishing present participle) ( polished past tense & past participle )
n-mass Polish is a substance that you put on the surface of an object in order to clean it, protect it, and make it
shine.
The still air smelt faintly of furniture polish., ...soap powders, detergents, and polishes.
verb If you polish something, you put polish on it or rub it with a cloth to make it shine.
Each morning he shaved and polished his shoes...
Vn
Polish is also a noun., n-sing a N
He gave his counter a polish with a soft duster.
polished
adj
...a highly polished floor.
n-uncount If you say that someone has polish, you mean that they show confidence and know how to behave
socially., (approval)
n-uncount If you say that a performance or piece of work has polish, you mean that it is of a very high
standard., (approval) The opera lacks the polish of his later work.
verb If you polish your technique, performance, or skill at doing something, you work on improving it.
They just need to polish their technique.
Vn
Polish up means the same as polish., phrasal verb
Polish up your writing skills on a one-week professional course.
V P n (not pron)

polished
French polish
nail polish polish off

phrasal verb If you polish off food or drink, you eat or drink all of it, or finish it.

INFORMAL No matter what he is offered to eat he polishes it off in an instant...

He polished off his scotch and slammed the glass down.

polish 5

VnP
V P n (not pron) polish up

French polish
French polish is a type of varnish which is painted onto wood so that the wood has a hard shiny surface.
nuncount
nail polish
( nail polishes 3rd person present ) Nail polish is a thick liquid that women paint on their nails.
mass (=nail varnish)

Polish
1
2

adj Polish means belonging or relating to Poland, or to its people, language, or culture.
n-uncount Polish is the language spoken in Poland.

n-