Meaning of “wash” in the English Dictionary

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"wash" in English

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washverb

uk ​ /wɒʃ/ us ​ /wɑːʃ/

wash verb (CLEAN)

A1 [ T ] to clean something using water:

wash your hair/hands
wash the car/clothes/floor
These sheets need washing.
I'll wash the bottle out (= clean its inside) and use it again.

A1 [ I ] US also wash up to clean yourself, or a part of yourself, with water and usually soap:

I'd like to wash before dinner.
wash well

› If a particular material or piece of clothing washes well, it is not damaged or spoiled by repeated washing.

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Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

wash verb (FLOW)

› [ I usually + adv/prep ] literary If water washes somewhere, it flows there, usually repeatedly:

She stood on the shore and let the water wash over her tired feet.
wash sb/sth up/ashore/overboard

› (of the sea) to carry something or someone to or away from a place:

Overnight the waves had washed up a lot of rubbish.
More than 400 dead dolphins had been washed ashore.
A Spanish crew member had been washed overboard (= carried off a ship into the sea by the force of the water) in the storm.

Idiom(s)

wash (with sb)
wash your dirty linen in public
wash your hands of sth
wash your mouth out (with soap/soapy water)

Phrasal verb(s)

wash sth away
wash sth down
wash off
wash sth off
wash (sth) out
wash sth out
wash (sth) up
wash up

washnoun

uk ​ /wɒʃ/ us ​ /wɑːʃ/

wash noun (CLEANING)

A2 [ C usually singular ] the action of washing something or a part of your body:

Those curtains need a good (= careful) wash.
Erik needed a good wash after playing in the garden.
the wash [ S ]

› all the clothes, sheets, etc. that are washed together, especially in a washing machine:

Can I put this shirt in (with) the white wash?
"Where's my pink shirt?" "It's in the wash" (= being washed or in a pile of clothes that is going to be washed).

› mainly US →  washing

have a wash UK

› to wash your body or a part of it:

I need to have a wash before dinner
do a wash UK

› to clean clothes, sheets, etc., usually in a washing machine:

Are you doing a wash tonight?

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

wash noun (FLOW)

› [ S ] literary (the sound made) when the sea moves against land, etc.:

Outside the house, she could hear the gentle wash of the waves on the beach.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

(Definition of “wash” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"wash" in American English

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washverb [ I/T ]

us ​ /wɑʃ, wɔʃ/

wash verb [ I/T ] (CLEAN)

› to make something or yourself clean, or to become clean, using water and usually soap:

[ T ] Alex washed his face and combed his hair.
[ T ] I hate washing dishes.

wash verb [ I/T ] (FLOW)

› (esp. of water) to flow or to cause to flow, often carrying something along:

[ I ] Waves washed against the boat.
[ T ] Heavy rains always wash the sand down the hill.

› If something is washed away, it is carried off by heavy rain or a flood:

[ M ] Even trees and cars were washed away in this flood.

› If something washes up or washes ashore, water has moved it there:

[ M ] That storm washed a lot of crabs up on the shore.

Idiom(s)

doesn't wash
wash your hands of someone or something

Phrasal verb(s)

wash down something
wash off (something)
wash out (something)
wash out something
wash up
wash up

washnoun

us ​ /wɑʃ, wɔʃ/

wash noun (NO CHANGE)

› [ C usually sing ] an event or situation in which positive and negative things balance each other:

I sold my car for about what it cost me, so it was a wash.

wash noun (CLEAN)

› [ C/U ] an act of washing, or clothing, sheets, and other cloth items being cleaned together:

[ C usually sing ] I went days without a wash or a change of clothes.
[ U ] She did a load of wash and hung it up to dry.

(Definition of “wash” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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