wash — OAT · Shobdo

wash

verb

1 he reached for the soap and began to wash:

clean oneself, have a wash, wash oneself;

bathe, bath, shower, have a bath/shower, take a bath/shower, soak, douche, freshen up;

North American wash up;

formal or humorous perform one's ablutions;

dated make one's toilet.

2 Melissa slipped indoors to wash her face and hands:

clean, cleanse, sponge, scrub, wipe, scour;

literary lave.

▷antonyms dirty, soil.

3 I washed and waxed the floor:

clean, cleanse, sponge, scrub, mop, hose down, squeegee, sluice (down), swill (down), douse, swab (down), flush, disinfect.

▷antonyms dirty, soil.

4 she washed off the dried blood:

remove by washing, sponge off, scrub off, wipe off, rinse off, remove, flush out/away, expunge, eradicate.

5 a few women were washing clothes beside the shore:

launder, clean, rinse (out);

dry-clean;

literary lave.

6 I must shower and wash my hair:

shampoo, lather, clean.

7 gentle waves were washing against the hull:

splash, lap, splosh, dash, break, beat, strike, sweep, move, surge, ripple, roll, flow;

literary plash, lave.

8 wreckage was washed up on the coast of Alaska:

sweep, carry, convey, transport, move, deliver, deposit, drive.

9 a wave of guilt washed over her:

affect, rush over/through, thrill through, race over, surge through, course through, flood over, flow over, sweep over, flutter through.

10 the stonework was washed with water-based paint:

paint, color, apply paint to, tint, highlight, shade, dye, stain, distemper;

coat, cover.

11 copper washed with silver:

plate, cover, coat, overlay, laminate, veneer, glaze, gild, silver.

12 informal people will see that this budget is merely an election bribe and it won't wash:

be accepted, be acceptable, be plausible, be convincing, hold up, hold water, stand up, bear scrutiny, stand the test of time, be believable/credible, pass muster, prove true, make sense;

informal stick.

□ wash something away

about two acres of land has been washed away:

erode, abrade, wear away, corrode, eat away, eat into, denude, grind down, undermine.

□ wash one's hands of

I'm going to wash my hands of the whole business:

disown, disclaim, renounce, reject, abjure, forswear, disavow, have nothing to do with, have done with, be finished/through with, give up on, turn one's back on, cast aside, end relations with, abandon;

Law disaffirm.

□ wash up

I cook for him, but he usually washes up:

wash the dishes, wash the crockery, do the dishes, do the washing-up.

□ wash something up

he washed up the dishes:

clean, rinse, do, scrub, scour.

noun

1 her hair needs a wash | he had a quick wash and shave:

clean, cleaning, cleansing;

shower, douche, dip, bath, soak;

formal or humorous ablutions;

rare lavation.

2 that shirt should really go in the wash straight away:

laundry, washing;

dirty washing, dirty clothes, soiled linen;

British, dated bagwash.

3 an antiseptic skin wash:

lotion, salve, application, preparation, rinse, liquid, liniment, embrocation, emulsion.

4 his jet ski plowed into the wash of a motor boat:

backwash, backflow, wake, trail, train, path;

churning, disturbance.

5 the wash of the waves on the pebbled beach:

surge, flow, swell, welling, sweep, undulation, rise and fall, ebb and flow, roll, splash.

6 water was applied to thin out the crayon into a wash:

paint, stain, varnish, coat, layer, film, overlay.