From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwashwash1 /wɒʃ $ wɒːʃ, wɑːʃ/ ●●● S1 W3 verb 1 wash something [transitive]WASH to clean something using water and a type of soap This shirt needs washing. It’s your turn to wash the dishes.► see thesaurus at clean2 wash yourself [intransitive, transitive]WASH to clean your body with soap and water Amy washed and went to bed. She had a hot bath and washed her hair. I’m just going to wash my hands.wash yourself When a cat has finished eating, it often washes itself.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that someone has a wash (BrE) or washes up (AmE) rather than washes.3 flow [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition]POUR if a river, sea etc washes somewhere, or if something carried by the river or sea is washed somewhere, it flows or moves there The waves washed against the shore. The sea washed over her. The young man was washed overboard (=pushed from a boat into the sea by the force of the water) in the storm. The body was washed ashore (=brought to the shore by waves).4 → something doesn’t/won’t wash (with somebody)5 → wash your hands of something6 → wash your mouth out!7 → wash well → wash/air your dirty linen/laundry (in public) at dirty1(7)THESAURUSwash to clean something with soap and waterOur car needs washing.Make sure that you wash your hands.do the washing British English, do the laundry American English to wash clothes that need to be washedDid you do the laundry this morning?I do the washing on Wednesdays and Saturdays.do the washing up British English (also wash up British English), do the dishes American English to wash all the cups, plates, knives etc that you have used during a mealIf you do the cooking tonight, I’ll do the washing up.Who’s going to do the dishes?cleanse formal to make something completely clean, especially using a special substanceCarefully cleanse the cut to get rid of any grit or dirt.rinse to wash something with water in order to remove soap or dirtI’ll just rinse the lettuce under the tap.scrub to make something very clean, using a stiff brush and water, or soap and waterLou was on her knees, scrubbing the kitchen floor.mop to wash a floor with a wet mop (=special stick with thick threads on the end)A cleaner mopped the floor between the beds. → wash something ↔ away → wash something ↔ down → wash off → wash out → wash over somebody → wash up→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
wash• Harry went upstairs to wash.• My jeans need to be washed.• When we moved in, we spent a whole day washing all the floors and paintwork.• I wished for a new dress as I washed and ironed my old yellow home-made mini for the hundredth time.• I seem to spend all my time washing and ironing these days.• I just need to wash before dinner.• She was washing her hair when the phone rang.• The women undressed and washed her, thickening the shadows with prayer.• He rolled, sprang on to his feet, and started to wash himself.• The spinach leaves should be washed in cold water.• Use a soft bristle brush to loosen the grime and if possible a sprayer to wash it all off.• In the bathroom, I washed myself.• You ought to wash that sweater by hand.• I really must wash the car this weekend.• Could you wash this shirt for me?• You could go over and see it, like a big whale washed up on the shore.• You were only allowed to wash your clothes once a week.• Wash your face and brush your teeth.• Have you boys washed your hands yet?wash the dishes• Aunt Em was washing the dishes.• Richard could play outside a while longer, while Cissie and Beth washed the dishes.• She even let the school-leavers who washed the dishes and cleared the tables look straight into her eyes.• The man will more often take out the garbage, wash the dishes, and do other chores around the house.• I washed the dishes and took a Brillo pad to the stove.• Afterwards, she helped Penelope wash the dishes, commenting that she had been a dishwasher also at one time.• Our task will be to wash the dishes later and I warn you there will be plenty.• Deborah and I washed the dishes, then sat beside each other at the kitchen table, our legs almost touching.wash yourself• He rolled, sprang on to his feet, and started to wash himself.• Here we crouched, ankle-deep in the wavelets, to wash ourselves or to go to the lavatory.• In the bathroom, I washed myself.• She washed herself and dressed herself and collected the bottles and took them down to the bin.• Rex, unperturbed, quickly stripped off naked to wash himself and his clothes in the deluge of fresh water.• He put on his shirt and suggested she should wash herself at the sink.• The message has to be reinforced all the time until the patient can wash himself properly and confidently, without losing concentration. washed ashore• All these bits and pieces washed ashore.• State officials also reported a dead sea turtle had washed ashore.• Only two men washed ashore alive.• Hapless, hopelessly clumsy Gilligan is washed ashore along with the competent, self-assured skipper.• Rubbish is discarded; that from boats is washed ashore and there is greater disturbance of the animal life.• Such was the rorqual whale, 64 feet long with a 12 foot tail, washed ashore in 1879.• Battered by 50 knot winds and seven-metre seas, the Ambrosia was later washed ashore in Aberdeenshire.• His body was washed ashore on what was to become Omaha Beach.washwash2 ●●○ noun 1 act of cleaning [countable usually singular]DHCWASH an act of cleaning something using soap and water Those jeans need a good wash (=a thorough wash). I’ll just have a quick wash before we go out.2 clothesDHCWASH [singular, uncountable] clothes that are to be washed, are being washed, or have just been washed You’d better put that shirt in the wash. Do you need me to put another wash on?3 skin [countable]DCB a liquid used to clean your skin an anti-bacterial facial wash4 → the wash5 colour [countable]DCB a very thin transparent layer of paint or colour6 → the wash7 → it will all come out in the washExamples from the Corpus
wash• The floor needs a wash.• I painted such areas first and then worked around and/or over with diluted washes.• an anti-bacterial face wash• He looks as if he could do with a good wash.• Water would shoot down the mountainsides and down the washes at 10-20 times the volume of a typical storm.• It is built up in very thin washes.have ... wash• I had driven to Gondal, the nearest town, to make phone calls and have a wash.• I have to wash your hair.• Here, the continuing water diuresis may have washed out the medullary concentration gradient and led to a protracted concentrating defect.• Sitting in a belt of farms, the community does not have pristine desert washes, said Cynthia Seelhammer, town manager.• I should have washed before I put my dress on, you know.• They have washed up on a shingle strand beside a lonely and barely habitable estancia.• The events of the year seemed to have washed over them and left them unaltered.• The tight smell of men who have not washed their bodies or known clean clothes.Wash.Wash.a written abbreviation of WashingtonWash, thethe WashWash, the a wide bay (=an area of sea that curves inwards towards the land) on the east coast of England between Norfolk and LincolnshireOrigin wash1 Old English wascan 