WASH


Meaning of WASH in English

■ verb

1》 clean with water and, typically, soap or detergent.

↘remove (a stain or dirt) in this way.

↘(of fabric, a garment, or dye) withstand cleaning to a specified degree without shrinking or fading.

↘do one's laundry.

2》 (of flowing water) carry or move in a particular direction.

↘be carried by flowing water.

↘sift metallic particles from (earth or gravel) by running water through it.

3》 ( ~ over ) occur all around without greatly affecting.

4》 literary wet or moisten.

5》 brush with a thin coat of dilute paint or ink.

↘( ~ something with ) coat inferior metal with (a film of gold or silver from a solution).

6》 [with negative ] informal seem convincing or genuine.

■ noun

1》 an act of ~ing or an instance of being ~ed.

↘a quantity of clothes needing to be or just having been ~ed.

2》 the water or air disturbed by a moving boat or aircraft.

↘the breaking of waves on a shore.

3》 a medicinal or cleansing solution.

4》 a thin coating of paint or metal.

5》 silt or gravel carried by water and deposited as sediment.

↘a sandbank exposed only at low tide.

6》 malt fermenting in preparation for distillation.

7》 N. Amer. informal a situation or result that is of no benefit to either of two opposing sides.

Phrases

come out in the ~ informal be resolved eventually.

~ one's dirty linen (or laundry ) in public informal discuss one's personal affairs in public.

~ one's hands euphemistic go to the toilet.

~ one's hands of disclaim responsibility for. [orig. with biblical allusion to Matt. 27:24.]

Phrasal verbs

~ out N. Amer. be excluded from a course or position after failing to meet the required standards.

~ something out

1》 cause an event to be postponed or cancelled because of rain.

2》 (of a flood or downpour) make a breach in a road.

~ up

1》 (also ~ something up ) chiefly Brit. clean crockery and cutlery after use.

2》 N. Amer. clean one's hands and face.

Derivatives

~ability noun

~able adjective

Origin

OE wæscan (v.), of Gmc origin; related to water .

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.