wash

1 syllable

Quick answer

As a verb, wash means clean with water. As a noun, it means the process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid.

Meanings of wash

55 meanings

To clean with water.
“The car is so dirty, we need to wash it.”
“Dishwashers wash dishes much more efficiently than most humans.”
To move or erode by the force of water in motion.
“Heavy rains wash a road or an embankment.”
“The flood washed away houses.”
miningTo separate valuable material (such as gold) from worthless material by the action of flowing water.
To clean oneself with water.
“I wash every morning after getting up.”
To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten.
“Waves wash the shore.”
To move with a lapping or swashing sound; to lap or splash.
“to hear the water washing”
To be eroded or carried away by the action of water.
figurativelyTo be cogent, convincing; to withstand critique.
To bear without injury the operation of being washed.
“Some calicoes do not wash.”
To be wasted or worn away by the action of water, as by a running or overflowing stream, or by the dashing of the sea; said of road, a beach, etc.
To cover with a thin or watery coat of colour; to tint lightly and thinly.
To overlay with a thin coat of metal.
“steel washed with silver”
To cause dephosphorization of (molten pig iron) by adding substances containing iron oxide, and sometimes manganese oxide.
To pass (a gas or gaseous mixture) through or over a liquid for the purpose of purifying it, especially by removing soluble constituents.

The process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid.
“I'm going to have a quick wash before coming to bed.”
“My jacket needs a wash.”
A liquid used for washing.
A lotion or other liquid with medicinal or hygienic properties.
The quantity of clothes washed at a time.
“There's a lot in that wash: maybe you should split it into two piles.”
artsA smooth and translucent painting created using a paintbrush holding a large amount of solvent and a small amount of paint.
The breaking of waves on the shore; the onwards rush of shallow water towards a beach.
“I could hear the wash of the wave.”
The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular:
The bow wave or wake of a moving ship, or the vortex from its screws.
“The ship left a big wash”
“Sail away from the wash to avoid rocking the boat.”
The turbulence left in the air by a moving airplane.
The backward current or disturbed water caused by the action of oars, or of a steamer's screw or paddles, etc.
nauticalThe blade of an oar.
Ground washed away to the sea or a river.
A piece of ground washed by the action of water, or sometimes covered and sometimes left dry; the shallowest part of a river, or arm of the sea; also, a bog; a marsh.
A shallow body of water.