See Also: Egg wash(recipes)
Wash.(dictionary)
wash(1)(dictionary)
wash-(dictionary)
wash-up(dictionary)
wash(dictionary)
wish-wash(dictionary)
Wash.(dictionary)
Wash(dictionary)
car wash(dictionary)

wash (iou)



wash verb. .

I.
verb trans. Remove the dirt from (something, as dirty clothes, dishes, etc.) by application of or immersion in liquid, esp. water, and usu. soap or detergent; clean with liquid. Also with adverbial obj. OE.
N. Streatfeild I'll just wash your jersey through. Cook's Magazine Wash the spinach with the red roots attached. B. Okri When the water drained away, the street was washed..clean. E. O'Brien She..goes to the sink to wash the glasses.
b. verb intrans. Wash clothes etc., esp. as an occupation or as part of one's household duties. L16.
S. Cisneros When you wash, it ain't enough to separate the clothes by temperature.
c. verb trans. with adverbial obj. & intrans. Of fabric, dye, or a garment: withstand cleaning with soap and water without detrimental effects on colour or texture. M18.
A. Lurie They chose sturdy, practical clothes that..washed and wore well.
d. verb trans. Do the washing for (a person, esp. a lodger). dial. L18.
e. verb intrans. Bear investigation, stand the test; prove to be convincing or genuine, be believed. Chiefly in (it) won't wash. colloq. M19.
S. Bellow I was tempted to believe that she didn't hear...But that didn't wash.
f. verb intrans. Wash crockery, cutlery, etc., after use. See also wash up below. Also foll. by up. M20.
Listener Let's pack away the tea. I'll wash, you dry.
verb trans. Clean (oneself, a part of the body, etc.) with water and usu. soap; bathe (a cut or wound). Also, (of an animal, esp. a cat) clean (itself) by licking and rubbing with the paws. ME.
Guardian I washed my hands..with soap and water. transf.: Sunday Express The fresh face of a Welsh schoolgirl washed clean by the rain.
b. verb intrans. Clean oneself, esp. one's face and hands; (of an animal, esp. a cat) clean itself by licking etc. ME.
A. Brookner I shall have to unpack and wash.
c. verb trans. fig. Purify (a person) from sin. Formerly also, bathe (a person) for symbolic purposes; baptize. ME.
I. Watts We are wash'd in Jesus' blood, We're pardon'd thro' his name.
d. verb trans. Rinse (the mouth etc.) with water, a medicinal solution, etc. Freq. foll. by out. M16.
J. T. Story She..tasted it, spat and washed her mouth out.
verb trans. Wet or moisten thoroughly; saturate or drench with water, dew, tears, etc. Chiefly poet. ME.
Shakespeare Taming of Shrew She looks as clear As morning roses newly wash'd with dew.
b. Moisten (the throat) with wine. LME-E17.
verb trans. Of the sea or a river: flow over or lap against (a shore or coast); beat or break on (walls, cliffs, etc.); touch (a town, country, etc.). Also, (of a river) flow through (a country). ME.
G. Borrow A small village, washed by the brook. J. L. Waten The alcove..was safe from the waves that occasionally washed the deck.
b. verb intrans. Of waves: sweep over a surface; rush in; break or surge against (the shore etc.); make a rushing or splashing sound when breaking. L18.
K. Lines Gigantic waves would wash over the earth. transf.: Tennis The applause washed over him as he left.
verb trans. & intrans. Immerse (oneself, a person) in a river, pool, etc.; bathe. Long rare. LME.
Shakespeare As You Like It He went but forth to wash him in the Hellespont.
verb trans. Sweat (gold or silver coin) by the application of acids. LME-E18.
verb trans. Brush a thin coat of watery paint over (a wall etc.); whitewash, colour-wash. Also, smear (a surface) with a thin coating of a liquid substance. E17.
W. Cobbett The windmills..are all painted or washed white.
b. Coat (inferior metal) with a film of gold etc. deposited from a solution. L18.
C. McCullough A silver tea service and..china cups washed with a delicate coating of gold leaf.
verb trans. Cover (paper) with a broad thin layer of watercolour laid on freely with the brush; lay (colour) in washes; paint in (part of a picture) with a wash of colour. Also (transf.), appear to cover (any object or surface) with a broad area of a particular colour, light, shade, etc. E17.
Draw It! Paint It! Wash in the shadows broadly. D. Simpson The trees..washed with an..eerie crimson glow from the setting sun.
verb trans. In the game of mah-jong, shuffle (the tiles). E20.
II.
verb trans. Remove by washing. Also (fig.), remove (something regarded as a stain or taint, as sin, etc.). Usu. foll. by away, out, off. ME.
Ld Macaulay This merit was thought sufficient to wash out even the stain of his Saxon extraction.
b. verb trans. Blot out, obliterate, cancel. Usu. foll. by away. LME.
c. verb intrans. Be removed by washing; (of dye or colouring matter) disappear when washed. Usu. foll. by away, out, off. M18.
New Age Journal Henna..gives hair a semipermanent protein coating..and it washes out gradually.
verb trans. Of waves, running water, rain, etc.: remove, carry away; carry along in a specified direction. Freq. foll. by away, down, off, out of, etc. LME.
C. Francis Sir Cloudesly's flagship..was sunk and his body washed ashore. R. Ingalls Not even the rain could wash away the soot and..grime.
b. verb trans. Separate (metallic particles) by treating metalliferous earth with water. Freq. foll. by out. M16.
c. verb trans. & intrans. Agitate in water or pass flowing water through (metalliferous earth) so as to sift out the metallic particles. M16.
d. verb intrans. Be removed or swept away by moving water; esp. (of soil etc.) be eroded, wear away by inundation. Usu. foll. by away, down. L16.
W. Cobbett [The soil]..does not wash away like sand or light loam.
verb trans.
a. Of running water, rain, etc.: pass over (a surface) so as to carry off adherent or loose matter; erode. Also foll. by out. E16.
Byron A pathway, which the torrent Hath wash'd since winter.
b. Flush or drench (a substance) with water or other liquid in order to remove impurities or dissolve out a component. M17.
W. A. Miller By washing the distilled liquid with water, the acetone..may be removed.
c. Scoop out (a channel, depression, etc.) by water erosion. M18.
verb trans. Foll. by down: accompany or follow (food) with a drink, esp. to aid swallowing or digestion. E17.
B. Trapido We ate kebabs..and washed them down with beer.
verb intrans. Be tossed about, be carried or driven along, by waves or running water. Freq. foll. by up, ashore, etc. E17.
Sea Frontiers World War II shells..occasionally wash up on the beaches. transf.: Times There was a lot of confidence washing around in the computer business.
Rowing.
a. verb trans. Steer so as to impede (a competitor) by the wash of one's own boat. M19.
b. verb intrans. Foll. by out: fail to lift out the blade of an oar squarely at the finish of a stroke. L19.
III. slang.
verb trans.
a. Printing. Punish or tease (a fellow-worker) by hammering on his desk. Also, congratulate (an apprentice) on the end of his apprenticeship in a similar way. Now rare or obsolete. E19.
b. Subject (stock) to a wash-sale. Stock Exchange slang. L19.
c. Murder. Also foll. by away. M20.
d. Launder (money). L20.
Phrases: wash a person's head (without soap) slang scold a person. wash its face slang (of an investment, enterprise, etc.) justify its cost, pay its way. wash one's brain, wash one's head joc. drink alcohol. wash one's dirty linen in public: see LINEN noun 1. wash one's eyes arch. joc. drink alcohol (as if to clear or sharpen the sight). wash one's hands euphem. go to the lavatory. wash one's hands of (orig. with allus. to Matthew 27:24) renounce responsibility for; refuse to have any further dealings with. wash one's head: see wash one's brain above. wash one's mouth out (with soap) (now chiefly fig.) wash out the mouth as a punishment, esp. for swearing (usu. in imper.).
With adverbs & prepositions in specialized senses: wash down wash (esp. a large surface) completely; (see also sense 11, 11d, 13 above). wash out (a) clean the inside of (a thing) by washing; (b) rinse out (soap etc.) from clothes; (c) obliterate, cancel; (d) colloq. call off (an event) esp. due to rain; (e) Air Force slang kill (an airman) in a crash; crash (an aircraft); (f) fade in the wash; fig. become pale, lose all vitality; (g) US eliminate (esp. a student) as unsatisfactory or as failing to meet required standards; (h) US (esp. of a student) be eliminated as unsatisfactory, fail to meet required standards; (see also senses 2d, 10, 10c, 11, 12a, 15 b above). wash up (a) verb phr. trans. & intrans. wash (crockery, cutlery, etc.) after a meal; (b) US slang bring to a conclusion; end or finish (something); (c) N. Amer. have a wash, wash one's face and hands; (d) verb phr. trans. & intrans. retrieve (particles of gold) from the sluices etc. in which the particles have collected during washing.