WASH

Pronunciation (US):

• WASH (noun)
  The noun WASH has 8 senses:

1. a thin coat of water-base paint
2. the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water)
3. the dry bed of an intermittent stream (as at the bottom of a canyon)
4. the erosive process of washing away soil or gravel by water (as from a roadway)
5. the flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller
6. a watercolor made by applying a series of monochrome washes one over the other
7. garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering
8. any enterprise in which losses and gains cancel out

  Familiarity information: WASH used as a noun is common.

• WASH (verb)
  The verb WASH has 13 senses:

1. clean with some chemical process
2. cleanse (one's body) with soap and water
3. cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water
4. move by or as if by water
5. be capable of being washed
6. admit to testing or proof
7. separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals)
8. apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to
9. remove by the application of water or other liquid and soap or some other cleaning agent
10. form by erosion
11. make moist
12. wash or flow against
13. to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking

  Familiarity information: WASH used as a verb is familiar.

• WASH (noun)

Sense 1

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A thin coat of water-base paint

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

water-base paint (paint in which water is used as the vehicle)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wash"):

whitewash (wash consisting of lime and size in water; used for whitening walls and other surfaces)

color wash; colour wash (a wash of whitewash or other water-base paint tinted with a colored pigment)

calcimine (a water-base paint containing zinc oxide and glue and coloring; used as a wash for walls and ceilings)

blackwash (a wash that colors a surface black)

Sense 2

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The work of cleansing (usually with soap and water)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

lavation; washing; wash

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

work (activity directed toward making or doing something)

Meronyms (parts of "wash"):

rinse; rinsing (the removal of soap with clean water in the final stage of washing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wash"):

bathing; washup (the act of washing yourself (or another person))

laundering (washing clothes and bed linens)

soak; soaking (washing something by allowing it to soak)

rinse (washing lightly without soap)

window-washing (the activity of washing windows)

washing-up (the washing of dishes etc after a meal)

dishwashing; washup (the act of washing dishes)

ablution (the ritual washing of a priest's hands or of sacred vessels)

Sense 3

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The dry bed of an intermittent stream (as at the bottom of a canyon)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

dry wash; wash

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

creek bed; streambed (a channel occupied (or formerly occupied) by a stream)

Domain region:

West; western United States (the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River)

Sense 4

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The erosive process of washing away soil or gravel by water (as from a roadway)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

washout; wash

Context example:

from the house they watched the washout of their newly seeded lawn by the water

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

soil erosion (the washing away of soil by the flow of water)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wash"):

rain-wash (the washing away of soil or other loose material by rain)

Sense 5

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

backwash; slipstream; airstream; race; wash

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

flow (any uninterrupted stream or discharge)

Sense 6

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A watercolor made by applying a series of monochrome washes one over the other

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

wash drawing; wash

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

water-color; water-colour; watercolor; watercolour (a painting produced with watercolors)

Sense 7

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

laundry; washables; washing; wash

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

garment (an article of clothing)

household linen; white goods (drygoods for household use that are typically made of white cloth)

Sense 8

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Any enterprise in which losses and gains cancel out

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

at the end of the year the accounting department showed that it was a wash

Hypernyms ("wash" is a kind of...):

business activity; commercial activity (activity undertaken as part of a commercial enterprise)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

• WASH (verb)

Sense 1

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Clean with some chemical process

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

wash; rinse

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

process; serve; swear out (deliver a warrant or summons to someone)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

elute (wash out with a solvent, as in chromatography)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They wash the cape

Sense 2

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Cleanse (one's body) with soap and water

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

wash; lave

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

clean; cleanse (clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

hush (wash by removing particles)

shampoo (use shampoo on (hair))

gargle; rinse (rinse one's mouth and throat with mouthwash)

scrub; scrub up (wash thoroughly)

sponge down (wash with a sponge)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

They wash
They wash themselves

Also:

wash up (wash one's face and hands)

Sense 3

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

launder; wash

Context example:

Wash the towels, please!

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

clean; make clean (make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

acid-wash (wash with acid so as to achieve a bleached look)

machine wash; machine-wash (wash by machine)

hand-wash; handwash (wash or launder by hand instead of with a machine)

stone-wash; stonewash (wash with stones to achieve a worn appearance)

cradle (wash in a cradle)

rinse; rinse off (wash off soap or remaining dirt)

suds (wash in suds)

powerwash; pressure-wash (wash before painting to remove old paint and mildew)

wash out (wash free from unwanted substances, such as dirt)

water-wash (wash with water)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They wash the cape

Sense 4

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Move by or as if by water

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The swollen river washed away the footbridge

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 5

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Be capable of being washed

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

Does this material wash?

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something ----s Adjective/Noun

Sense 6

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Admit to testing or proof

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

This silly excuse won't wash in traffic court

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

stand (be in effect; be or remain in force)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 7

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals)

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

separate (divide into components or constituents)

"Wash" entails doing...:

rinse; rinse off (wash off soap or remaining dirt)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

pan; pan off; pan out (wash dirt in a pan to separate out the precious minerals)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 8

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

whitewash (cover with whitewash)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 9

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Remove by the application of water or other liquid and soap or some other cleaning agent

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

wash off; wash away; wash out; wash

Context examples:

he washed the dirt from his coat / The nurse washed away the blood / Can you wash away the spots on the windows? / he managed to wash out the stains

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 10

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Form by erosion

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

The river washed a ravine into the mountainside

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

eat away; erode; fret (remove soil or rock)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 11

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Make moist

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

moisten; dampen; wash

Context example:

The dew moistened the meadows

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

wet (cause to become wet)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wash"):

humidify; moisturise; moisturize (make (more) humid)

baste (cover with liquid before cooking)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 12

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Wash or flow against

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

lave; lap; wash

Context example:

the waves laved the shore

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

flow (cover or swamp with water)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 13

wash [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

To cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

The cat washes several times a day

Hypernyms (to "wash" is one way to...):

clean; cleanse (clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s